Fall TV Preview: Journeyman

A new science fiction/drama, "Journeyman" will be part of NBC's Monday night line-up following the mega-hit "Heroes". Airing 10pm to 11pm against "The Bachelor" reality show, and top rated "CSI: Miami" it will have a tough ratings battle.

Kevin McKidd (Rome) plays San Francisco newspaper reporter Dan Vasser. Dan is a normal guy with a loving wife Katie, played by Gretchen Egolf . Reed Diamond is his devoted son, Jack. Dan is a fortunate man with a loving family. He is a rising star in his career. Then, without warning he is thrust back in time. Dan finds he must help people in the past in order to return to his present. Once back in the present, he faces the difficult task of convincing his distraught wife and son of his unbelievable experiences. Abrupt disappearances and unannounced returns strain the fabric of relationships at home and at work. Brian Howe is the newspaper boss Hugh Skillen, who is more than skeptical about Dan's explanations concerning his disappearances.

In the first episode Dan encounters Livia Beale, the fiance thought dead in the future. Moon Bloodgood (Daybreak) is the beautiful woman who was so important in DanÍs past. Her mysterious death had long been a question mark in his mind. Seeing her again, alive he is struck by emotions he thought long buried.

The science fiction aspect of the show is far outweighed by the impact of the emotional drama. Time travel is the vehicle that drives the plot, but it is the stories that are compelling. Writer and producer, Kevin Falls and Emmy Winning producer, Alex Graves, both of the hit series "West Wing" have created a science fiction series that doesn't rely on special effects and aliens. "Journeyman" is strong with characterization and plot.

Kevin McKidd, as Dan Vasser is the everyday man enduring the fantastic. He must fix the problems of his past to keep his future life secure.

Buddytv.com gives the pilot high praise. "A+ to infinity and all the stars in the universe." Their positive review was given not for the science fiction flavor, but for the strength of the stories that would be just as strong without the science fiction backdrop.

There is depth of concept and execution in the idea for this series. "Journeyman" starts a whole new television genre. It is a romantic science fiction series where the sci-fi isn't the star. It is not an alien landscape or creature that drives the series; it is the dramatic stories of normal people faced with extraordinary events.