I LOVE TIME TRAVEL! I love it in all its forms. Stuck in the past trying to find a way Back to the Future with old tech. yep, I love that. fighting off evil robots from the future sent back to kill the leader of the human resistance. Yep, I love that too. If it deals with time travel, I absolutely love it. yes, Back to the Future was where I became fully aware of time travel as a thing. I had seen it in tv episodes and some other movies as well, but Back to the Future is where I started to ponder reality and existence, you know as a concept and all. If time travel was possible then the universe would truly be limitless. The ability to go and pull a single thread to make a change for the better always fascinated me when I was younger as I aged and realized I am a sum of my experiences so to make even a little change could have huge effects moving forward. I have always wondered why we only seem to have this discussion in time travel. No one ever seems to look at where they are currently and wonder what small action could have a huge impact in the future. We only see it in the lens of time travel and altering the past and future ramification. One thing I love as a plot and story device is the time loop. I love a good time loop. We see our characters solve this problem. We see how well they are at convincing / believing each other. I mean that is how it works right?  Usually, one member of our cast knows what is happening and the rest need to be convinced. Sometimes our cast does not even know they are in a temporal loop to try and solve it. so, without further ado here are five-time loop episodes done well.

Eureka, I Do Over (Season 3 Episode 4)

I love Eureka. This show was absolutely wonderful. We are dealing with a fictional town that is focused on the science. Pushing boundaries and limits in the name of bettering humanity. What could be better? Eureka really is a Monster of the week kind of show. Every week we get some death ray or some such that is going to end life as we know it, and every week our group solves the problem and saves the day. Just phenomenal. Always very positive, even when it is dark and scary. Very hopeful for tomorrow and for people in general. Looking for a little hope thrown in with your sci fi look further than Eureka.

Nathan Stark is the head of GD; they are the corporate arm of the town. Starts off as only being really mentioned that they sell some of what they create to pay for the town; in later episodes we see a lot of products from Degree show up. So, it literally becomes the marketing arm. Now Dr. Stark is in charge of all the happenings at GD. He is played by Ed Quinn who you know from The Oval, several episodes of the One Day at a Time remake, and Two Broke Girls. Now I think I said this last time I talked about this show, but Nathan Stark is what is wrong with smart people. He has absolutely no patience for those who are not at his level and does not mind showing it. he is usually talking down to everyone, especially sheriff Carter.

Sheriff Carter is played by Colin Ferguson, and you know him from Haven, Vampire Diaries, and Cedar Cove. Sheriff Carter is an everyman. Like I say I always try to find which character would be me if I “lived” in that show, and the closest I can get to here is sheriff Carter. While he may not be on the cutting edge of science and technology, he is an expert at law enforcement and fugitive tracking, which comes in a lot handier than you think in this setting. Carter does have expertise. They may not be in tech and science like the rest of the town, but he does have them.

Allison Blake is the woman caught between these two men. She is played by Salli Richardson-Whitfield who you may know from Anacondas: the Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Stitchers, and Newsroom. I loved Newsroom another Aaron Sorkin masterpiece. Allison is driven. She is a department of defense liaison but has a background as a medical doctor as well as her own research. Strong and powerful female leader. I love those roles when done well and she does it well.

In I Do Over (Season 3 Episode 4) it is the day of Allison and Nathan’s wedding. Re-wedding, is that a word? They are getting married again. They were married then divorced, it is actually in season one where we see this story line, and now they have decided to get remarried. And of course, all of this is after a reset in the timeline back at the end of season 1 start of season 2. This is the first of a couple of different timeline shifts. So today is the wedding for Allison and Nathan. Of course, Carter is walking her down the aisle and is responsible for retrieving a gift from Nathan for Allison. Except Carter seems to be reliving the same day over and over. Our first time through we see a normal episode unfold, in about ten minutes or so. Then each new run through we see Carter trying out many different scenarios. He starts by accusing Eva Thorne played by Francis Fischer, you know her from Titanic, Watchmen the series, and a season of Sinner. Thorn was brought in as an efficiency expert to make cuts to make Eureka more profitable. She is up to something, and we do find out later, but she is not involved in the events that are causing time to loop back on itself. Next Carter accuses a new clock that is being installed that will make GD the center of time for the planet, and of course that is not it and only serves to make him look foolish in front of Stark.

Finally, Carter discovers that GD has a time guy, and it is in fact he who has created the loop. The time guy dies trying to restore the timeline to normal. As a safety precaution he teaches a crucial formula to Carter with a song, and yes once again Carter has to look foolish in front of Stark, but eventually Stark sees where Carter is going, and they try to solve the problem. Spoiler alert here but by the end the only way to solve this is for Stark to sacrifice himself to save the town, and Allison. This leaves Carter the task of telling Allison at her wedding that her groom has died. It is a very touching ending. So much so that they forgo the usual upbeat end credits music with a more somber song. very powerful.

The thing I think I like most about this episode is it, for a time, makes you almost wish you could do a time loop every now and then in real life. There are some side notes that Carter is able to handle even better being aware of them happening from the previous loop. I think we all could be better people if we just got a little preview of our day before it actually started. A practice day if you will. The second thing is by the end of this episode I almost like Stark. Yes, we respect him throughout his run on the show. He is brilliant. A Nobel prize winner very smart but he is a bit of an ass, and you love seeing him this way too, but by the end of this episode you see his humanity. You feel he has redeemed himself for all the past transgressions. I am not going to lie it is a little sad moving on from here. We do get a couple of episodes where stark turns back up, a smart crystal, a hallucination, and a timeline shift, but it is never really him and not very long. I think that makes it okay. I don’t like when I have a show walk me through a loss only to negate it by taking it all away. You know like having a dead character show back up in the season premiere taking a shower and essentially calling last season a dream. Yes, I am still very upset at Dallas and that is all I am saying here.

Eureka is a wonderful show, and as good as this episode is it is not even the best episode of the show. These characters are wonderful. If you want to check this out it is over on Amazon with a prime membership.

Fringe, White Tulip (Season 2 Episode 18)

For those who do not know Fringe is J.J. Abrams version of the X-Files. The world in which Fringe takes place is one filled with, well, fringe science and parapsychology. I know we used to pick on X-Files, or at least I did, because here are these FBI agents and they seem to be doing anything but their jobs. Don’t get me wrong I love X-files, but they never seem to ever be on real FBI cases just whatever Spooky Mulder digs up this week. Any way in Fringe we have the entire Fringe division, so they solve that. This is a new division and really seems to be formed in the pilot episode. So, I will be brief to bring everyone up to speed who may not have seen fringe. In the pilot of Fringe, we got an airliner who lands with all passengers dead. All the agencies involved form task force to help figure this out. Olivia Dunham is our FBI contact for the show. Oliva is played by Anna Torv. She was on Mindhunter, Secret life of us, Secret City, and Newsreader. Olivia discovers that there is a scientist who could help up, Dr. Walter Bishop, but he is currently in a mental institution. John Noble does a great job playing Walter Bishop. He is one of my favorite characters on television. You know John Nobble from a lot of things. He narrated this history channel show, or some network like that, Dark Matters: Twisted but True. This show would take those old stories of government conspiracies and such show what was real, like the Philadelphia experiment or the Tuskegee experiment. Love that shows. He was also on a few episodes of Sleepy Hollow, which was also fun. You may also know him from Lord of the Rings, Star Trek Prodigy, DC Legends of Tomorrow, and like I said a ton of other stuff. Walter Bishop is just not quite right. Yes, he is in a mental institution, but it is more than that. most of what Walter worked on was the crazy science stuff that would have fueled any number of seventies conspiracy theories. The issue with him being in a mental institution is we need him out but in order to get him released we need a family member to get him out. His son, Peter Bishop, is who we have to get. The two have been estranged for decades and have not even spoken. Peter owes some people some money, so he reluctantly takes on the task of getting his father released and being his caretaker. Peter Bishop is played by Joshua Jackson who you know from Dawson’s Creek, never watched that one but I keep threatening to go back and see it, as well as Dr. Death and The Affair. So that is it. Basically, every week something really strange happens, and our crew goes to investigate. Oh, one more thing. See when Peter was young, like ten or so, he was really sick and died. So, Walter was able go “over there” and bring back peter. Now sorry for the spoiler but it is necessary for our episode today.

The time loop episode White Tulip, season 2 episode 18, starts with Walter writing a letter to explain all this to Peter, the multiverse abduction and such. This all occurs because in the previous episode, or two, Olivia discovered that peter was actually not from here, but rather, from “over there”. They play with this in the show. So much so that they have different intros for over here, over there, back then and down the road aways. Obviously, these are not the actual names just me trying to keep track of the timelines. Next, we are on a train in Boston the lights flicker and dim and then Peter Weller appears as if from nowhere. Yes, that Peter Weller, Robo-cop and Buckaroo Bonsai peter Weller. Anyway, everybody on the trains dies, and our team is sent to investigate. Great line as they walk towards the train. Peter says to Olivia “does something seem strange to you?” to which Olivia replies “No but give it a few minutes”. Just made me chuckle. So, they discover everybody dead on the train as well as all batteries, laptops, phones, mp3 players, all drained, as well as the backup batteries for the lights on the train themselves. Through the investigation they find Peter Weller’s character and search his house. Of course, Peter Weller resets the timeline, and we are back at the beginning. Our second trip through the loop Walter and has a conversation with Peter Weller’s character Walter explains he has done some things, some very bad things, and has asked God to forgive him. And the sign he asked for is a white tulip. Peter Weller has decided he will make his next jump back to the day his fiancé dies and wants to save her. They discuss this and Walter warns him the amount of energy needed would undoubtedly kill hundreds of people. Peter Weller explains he has an open field where the energy dispersal will not affect anyone. Once more peter Weller jumps and we see him in the open field and a ring of dead grass around him. He runs down towards his fiancé and finds her. Jumps in the car just in time to say I love you and have them both die when the car is struck. Next, we see a lady from MIT we talked to earlier in the investigation. She is now holding an envelope and pondering whether to send it or not. Turns out it is addressed to Walter. Our next scene is Walter receiving the envelope and inside is a white tulip, drawn by peter Weller and mailed about a year after his death. Which of course lines up with the start of our episode. Walter gets his sign.

I love this as a writing exercise. A major plot point moving forward is Peter Bishop being from over there. This is important. The struggle Walter is having is difficult. He has just reconnected with his son and now has to tell him that he is not actually his son. To take an entire episode and set up the remainder of the show, like a soft reboot almost, is just excellent. This is the kind of writing I love on this show. The acting is wonderful and the stories from this point seem to be more focused towards the goal of the show. This is about the time when most shows moved away from being episodic and became more serialized. This was a great way to do it. they shift from the monster of the week to a more seasonal/ series long monster/bad guy.

Fringe is an excellent show if you like sci-fi, if you like the weird fringe science stuff, then this one is for you. at last check it was available on HBO Max. check it out if you have not seen it. if you have seen it then it is time to do a rewatch. That should be the rule. If you have seen a show and like then hear it in the wild, conversation, podcast, or whatever, then you need to rewatch the show.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, Cause and Effect’ (Season 5, Episode 18)

I love Star Trek. Now I am not one of those quote every episode fan, heck I am not even that for Star Wars. I really hate to describe myself this way, but I am actually more of a casual viewer. And I don’t like how that sounds. I enjoy and will always give a Star Trek show or movie a shot is what I am trying to say. No one does a good temporal anomaly like Trek. Some of the best stories on Voyager were the time travel episodes, but I am her today to talk about an episode from Next Generation. The episode is Cause and Effect from season five. This opens with the enterprise being completely destroyed and we join in the middle of this happening. We are given no context whatsoever. Enterprise is coming apart. Data and Riker give their ideas for fixing the issue. The decision Picard makes is the wrong decision and the order to abandon ship is given just prior to the enterprise itself exploding into a million pieces. Then the opening begins leaving us to ponder what did we just see and how will this work out.

You need a couple of good elements for a good time loop episode. This one has a couple of those. First of all, we have a complete looped experience. We start with a card game and end with the destruction of the enterprise. So, we have our book ends. We know the clock so to speak. Everything will happen in this position. First full time through the loop we know nothing and are given nothing beyond the basics of the story. next thing this episode does well is alter the point of view. We start from Beverly Crusher’s POV. She is called from the poker game, after calling Riker’s bluff, to help Geordie. Dr. Crusher gets this vague sense of déjà vu, but we proceed down the story. Later Dr. Crusher will mention an experience she had in the night during a staff meeting and this sets things into motion. Next go through we seem to focus a little more on Riker, we even see the poker game from over his shoulder. We again proceed through the loop. One of the things I love about this time loop episode in particular is the way we start over from scratch at each pass. No one knows anything as we push through the story. so many times, we allow someone to have the knowledge and then have to convince others of what is happening. Here we are starting the mystery over at each pass. More realistic, I think. You know with all my time loop experiences and all.  This happens a couple of times and then we decide to find a way of sending a message through to the next loop. This of course falls to Data. This final loop is where we start to get some changes. The poker game everybody thinks they know the cards that are going be played, as per a previous loop, but this time they are wrong, but everyone receives three of kind when data deals the cards. Some of the statistics and number values given are multiples of three, not all which I was a little bit disappointed in with this watching of the episode. I thought would have been a cool thing for the writers to do. make that last pass be overly influenced with threes and multiples of threes. Or at least for me it did not seem that all the numbers were multiples of three.

We get to the final stage of the final loop and data realizes which choice is the correct choice and makes that decision. We are out of the time loop and have a new ship to deal with. This is the ship that we have seen crash into the enterprise repeatedly for the past hour of television. I do have another criticism and it is so small, but when they identify the ship there is no mention of it being listed as missing. We know this type has not been used in eighties years, but they do not tell us how long this ship has been listed as missing. I mean it went into this loop decades ago, presumably, so it would have been listed but no mention, I just find that odd and not very trek. The other thing that this episode does that I love, and I think it is probably the first time I had seen it, is they tell you how long the enterprise has been in this loop. Always love that kind of detail. And obviously the other ship gets a similar treatment. I do love Star Trek and always have. Attention to detail in good story telling are the hallmarks of this series. Any story they tackle they handle very well. If you are looking for a Star Trek fix you will need paramount plus. They have about everything star trek you could want.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., ‘As I Have Always Been’ (Season 7, Episode 9)

This has got to be one of my favorite Agents of Shield episodes. I love a good time travel story. I love a good time loop story. this is essentially both. Marvels Agents of Shield ran for seven years on ABC. It started off saying they were in fact separate from the MCU however that changed very quickly. I think early season one we have our team working cleanup for the mess left behind from Thor Dark World, and later in the same season we have the rise of Hydra after the events of Captain America the Winter Soldier, which is probably my favorite MCU movie but is definitely my favorite Captain America Movie. There has been this on-going debate over whether Agents of Shield is cannon and I say to that first of all does it matter? A good story is a good story, if it fits into the existing world without creating too many issues what does it matter? Secondly season one has Stan Lee in it. Stan Lee equals cannon. Now my in box will be filled with those who disagree. The entire idea of cannon is important to maintain story continuity but should not be used to limit stories and access. Alright enough of that.

As I Have Always Been coming near the end of the final season. The final season of agents of shield sees our war warry team traveling through time in an attempt to save the world yet again. This show is excellent. Some of the seasons I do not like, but I still watch them and find them entertaining. This team has saved the earth from the destroyer of worlds, all three or was it four of them I forget. Thy worked with Ghost rider, lady Sif. They have been through a computer simulation that is eerily similar to modern earth society today. They traveled to the future to battle the Cree and try again to save the world, or what is left of it. they have been through it. in season seven they are battling the chronocoms who are seeking to take over earth to make it their new home world, after the destruction of their own home world in the previous season by the previous villain. So, our team is definitely tired and divided.

Jemma has returned to the fold with Enoch, he is a friendly chronocom and is on our team. Enoch is not used as much as I would like but he is a wonderful addition to the cast. Enoch is played by Joel Stoffer. You know him from the most recent season of Stranger Things, he plays Eddie’s uncle, as well as episodes of numb3rs and Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull.  Enoch has placed a chip in Jemma’s head to keep her from remembering where Fitz is. Our time machine, which no one really knows how it works, is now jumping repeatedly until, it is theorized, it jumps inside of a jump killing everyone on board. So, we have to fix it before this happens. Of course, only two of the cast knows this is happening. Now this is my real issue with this episode. Daisy knows about the jumps and seems to know it is happening with each subsequent jump we witness, however when she initially comes too, she has no memory of the jump. The other cast member is Coulson. He is also a chronocom now but has all of Coulson’s memories, yada yada yada. Now he tells Daisy you do not always wake me; this is not even the first time through the loop. Which strikes me, why wouldn’t this be the first thing you would do? wake the machine who is able to save the memories from last time and get everybody on board right away. Well, if we did that it would solve. Now from this point forward Daisy seems to remember the time jump and kind of ground hog’s days it for a couple of loops. She saves Mac from being Blinded. She helps get Yoyo out of being trapped in the quin jet. She even helps devise a plan to remove the implant in Jemma’s head to solve the problem. She, and then the entire team, are stopped by Enoch. Turns out Enoch has been given a directive to kill in order to keep the chip from being removed. This episode is pretty action packed and has some real dramatic parts as well. Daisy spends one loop sitting and chatting with Souza, he was an agent they picked up in the fifties. You may remember him from being on the Agent Carter show, which I am currently rewatching. Souza is played by Enver Gjokaj. Now that is a mouth full. You will remember him from not only Agent Carter but also a few episodes of the Rookie, NCIS Hawaii and Dollhouse. I loved Dollhouse I am going to have to put that on a gone too soon episode or something. So, this is where we see a relationship between Daisy, from the twenty teens, and Souza, from the 1940’s. such a cute relationship. So now our time ship that no one knows how it works, is spiraling to the center of a time storm and certain destruction. And of course, with like four episodes left they do solve the issue. They trick Enoch and remove Simmons’s implant and learn the only way to save the team is to essentially kill Enoch. This is one of the most poignant scenes on television, and really a second for this series. The writing on this show is absolutely nuts at times but is always good. Nothing ever feels like it is out of nowhere to just solve the situation. It always has meaning, and the stakes always feel real. Seriously if you have not seen agents of shield, I cannot recommend it enough. It is over on Disney plus so check it out. It really is good. Also, if you have already seen it, several times, then why are you not watching it right now? A great show and an excellent time loop episode.

12 MONKEYS, ‘Lullaby’ (Season 2, Episode 8)

Now if you have been paying attention, and I hope you have, you know I love time travel. You also know I love this show. I cannot say enough wonderful things about 12 monkeys. When a show that has such a grasp on time travel as this one does you know that when they do a time loop episode it will be wonderful. Now it has been a few months since my last full rewatch so some of the details are going to be out of order and I apologize for any spoilers that may slip out. For those who do not know 12 monkeys is an adaptation from the movie starring Bruce Willis and, in my opinion, the show is better than the movie. That is not to say the movie is not good because it is wonderful. I just think this subject matter requires a longer format to work with.

With our episode, Lullaby, we are about mid-way through season 2. We have had a shift in the timeline from the end of season 1. Ramse, played by Kirk Acevado, has a son who is lost due to this shift. We also see Deacon, played by Todd Stashwick, have a switch here as well. He goes form being the menacing leader of the West Seven to being on our team. He is responsible for turning Dr. Railly, played by Amanda Schull, into a fighting machine and of course their relationship deepens as well. Probably just easier to say with the events that ended season one everybody has had a shift.

Dr. Jones, played by Barbara Sukowa, thinks she has time all figured out. She is going to engage in the only real resolution of a time machine story that will set everything where it should be and that is she is going to destroy the time machine, in a sense. She devises a plan to send Dr. Railly back to Kill her, Dr. Jones, the day that Hannah, Jones’s daughter, dies. Dr. Jones has determined this was the moment when our entire story really kicks off. Dr. Jones and Dr. Railly devise this plan on their own and off Dr. Railly goes, like Sam Beckett, to set things right. Deacon gets wind of the plan and forces it out into the open and we now send Cole back to try and stop Dr. Railly. This is when we discover that there is a loop in play.

Dr. Reilly has infiltrated the base and has in fact carried out her mission by killing dr. Jones. However, she is not aware that time has reset. So, she is going to show Cole, who has just shown up, that she in fact has killed Dr. Jones and set things right. This leads to the capture of our two heroes, and they are thrown into holding where they meet Jennifer, played wonderfully by Emily Hampshire,  who is also in holding. I love Jennifer Goines as a character. She is wonderful. She seems not too surprised to see them but also needs to figure out which them it is she is meeting. This is something I never even considered in a time travel show until I saw this. Of course, usually in a time travel show or episode or movie whatever no one is really aware outside of out travelers what is happening. Jennifer asks, “When I say Hyena, what do you think?” and of course Dr. Railly and Cole just stare blankly at her. To which Jennifer responds, “so that hasn’t happened for you yet.” and of course guess what the title of the next episode is? Anyone? That is right it is Hyena. So, we are just one episode early.

Jennifer’s theory is that time, which is sentient, not only wants time travel but needs time travel and of course Dr. Jones is the only who can do that. so, time seems to be conspiring against our team to keep Jonesy scarred and driven to retrieve her daughter from the clutches of death. This is the entire episode. Of course, there are several attempts that go wrong, but we eventually devise a proper plan. The fun part about the plan is we already know everything has worked out before we know what the plan is. We see the effect before the cause. If you were to tell me that Terry Matalas was a time traveler from the future, I would believe you from his work here alone. Who, but a time traveler from the future, would even be able to think of putting the effect before the cause?

So, everything has worked out, our team is together, and Dr. Jones is pissed that she is still alive and throwing all kinds of shade at our team. She essentially put a hit on herself and is pissed it failed. Cole Cassie and Jonesy all travel to the edge of the woods where the Jennifer and her group, the daughters, Hyenas, I forget which at this point, but it is old Jennifer, to explain everything that happened that we did not see.

The plan was simple. Jones had to believe Hannah had died from the virus to get time travel to happen. So that is what happened. However, what Dr. Jones did not know was Cassie was able to save Hannah and deliver her to Jennifer for safe keeping. This keeps Jones scarred and driven to invent time travel, but it also saves Hannah. Of course, none of this sits well with Ramse. To save his son the entirety of this line would be wiped out. He corners Dr. Railly at the end of the episode at gun point.  This is where we learn that when Dr. Railly was taken over by the witness she was able to see in his mind. This scene, that is it two minutes three tops, is first off, some of the best acting, and secondly sets up the next two seasons of the show.

If you like time travel, good acting, and excellent writing you need to check this out. Great show and I have said that before and I will say it again. I love this show, the characters, the writing, even the cinematography and effects are excellent. You can buy it at Vudu or if you have a Hulu subscription you can watch it there. I recommend you see this and be hooked liked the rest of us.

There are five of my favorite time loop episodes. Did I miss any? What is your favorite? Let me know by posting to social media with #thatandadollarpodcast. You can follow me on twitter @thatandadollar. I am also on Instagram at a_guy_named_chuck. Feel free to join our Facebook group That and A Dollar podcast. If you would like to help keep this one man show flying, feel free to leave a tip at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thatandadollar. Please also check for the podcast That and a Dollar where ever you listen to podcasts. I am a guy named check and as always that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee.