Why you should watch Time After Time

Jessica Stiehm
Co-Editor-in-Chief

Somehow watching a bumbling H.G Wells hunt down Jack the Ripper makes for surprisingly good television. Time After Time only just premiered March 5, but in my humble opinion it’s off to a thrilling start!

Hilarity ensues as we watch the 19th Centurians navigate New York City in a very different 2017 world. I was particularly impressed with the mannerisms of H.G Wells as he combats the wiles of modern technology. Other TV shows try to replicate this type of confusion that comes with jumping hundreds of years forward in time, such as in Sleepy Hollow or Doctor Who, but Time After Time’s interpretation outdid the other two by far.

At one point in the pilot, Wells literally weeps as he watches a general news broadcast. Topics such as ISIS, car crashes, school shootings, forest fires, and even fast food recalls seem normal to us, but to an English sophisticate of the 19th century, it’s heartbreaking. I was surprised the two time travelers didn’t have a sensory overload and break down within hours of their arrival.

Unlike Wells, who got hit by a taxi on his first night, Jack the Ripper maneuvers through modern life with unusual ease. He has enough brains to sell one of his watches (now a priceless antique!) and use the $15,000 to check into a five-star hotel, shop for a whole new wardrobe, and buy a butcher's knife. Alternatively, Wells gets taken into custody and meets the refreshingly modern Jane Walker; she doesn’t believe he’s a time traveler at first but comes around eventually in a hysterical revelation.

Without giving away the rest of the plot, I’ll just say Jack gets up to his old tricks, and H.G and Co. rally up to stop him. Getting to watch H.G Wells work a smartphone was one of the better moments of the episode, so if you want to see more anachronistic moments, tune in on Sundays on ABC!

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