Voyagers!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Voyagers! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photo of Jeffrey and Phineas |
|
| Format | Science fiction |
| Created by | James D. Parriott |
| Starring | Jon-Erik Hexum Meeno Peluce |
| Opening theme | J.A.C. Redford |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | James D. Parriott |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Original run | October 3, 1982 – July 31, 1983 |
Voyagers! is a time travel-based television series broadcast in the 1982-1983 season starting on October 3, 1982.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Phineas Bogg (played by Jon-Erik Hexum) was one of a society of time travelers called Voyagers who, with the help of a young boy named Jeffrey Jones (played by Meeno Peluce) used a hand-held device called an Omni (which looked much like a large pocket watch) to travel in time and ensured that history unfolded as we know it. For instance, in the first episode Jeffrey ensured that baby Moses' basket traveled down the Nile river where it was met by the Pharaoh's daughter.
Bogg and Jeffrey first met when Bogg's Omni malfunctioned and took him to 1982 (the circuitry of Bogg's Omni was set to allow him only as late as 1970), landing him in the apartment of Jeffrey's aunt and uncle, who were caring for him after his parents' death. Jeffrey accidentally fell out of a window, causing Bogg to jump out to rescue him by activating the Omni. Bogg's Guidebook, which contained a detailed description of how history should unfold, had been grabbed by Jeffrey's dog Ralph so Bogg had to rely on Jeffrey (whose father was a history professor) to help him.
[edit] Running jokes
There are several running gags in the show, like Phineas' lacking knowledge of important historical events, (which emphasizes his dependence on Jeffrey) his fear of dogs and his poker playing habits, where he relies on the rules of an old Hungarian card game called, "Schnibbitz". ("I was playing cards when they were still played with rocks.")
Phineas is also a great womanizer and manages to fall for a beautiful woman in almost every single time period he is in. Phineas' memory of historical facts is highly selective. He couldn't tell the difference between the French Revolution and World War I, yet he did remember that "Marie Antoinette had terrible legs!" Whenever Jeffrey's wisdom is paired up against Bogg's stubbornness, Jeffrey usually wins out; to which Bogg always mutters, "Smart kids give me a pain!"
[edit] Cast
[edit] Voyagers
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jon-Erik Hexum | Phineas Bogg |
| Meeno Peluce | Jeffrey Jones |
| Stephen Liska | Voyager Drake |
| Tracy Brooks Swope | Voyager Olivia |
| Jenny Neumann | Voyager Susan |
[edit] Guest cast
[edit] The Voyagers
The Voyagers are a group of humans who help correct history when it goes wrong. Bogg says "We travel through time to help history along. Give it a push when it's needed. When the Omni's Red it means history's wrong. Our job is to get everything back on track" They can be recruited from any point in history. For example; Phineas Bogg was a pirate from a few hundred years ago when he was chosen to be a Voyager. Voyager Recruits attend Voyager Academy and upon graduation are given an Omni and a Voyager Guidebook.
Voyagers who tamper with history for their own benefit or violate the Voyager Code stand trial at Voyager headquarters, where they have a defense attorney to defend them, and a prosecutor called the Voyager Tribunal-Code Violation Prosecutor. Evidence is generally presented using the accused Voyager's own Omni for the data in its memory banks.
In separate episodes, both Bogg and Jeffrey had been tempted to change history. In "Voyagers of the Titanic", Jeffrey insisted on warning the captain of the disaster to come. He actually succeeds in trying but nobody believes him. In "Barriers of Sound", Bogg falls in love with a woman who was destined to marry Alexander Graham Bell.
[edit] The Omni
The Omni (short for Omnichron) is a small device used by Voyagers to travel in time. It is shaped like a small pocket watch, although for purposes of disguise it can apparently be custom configured by its user. The control panel features a small display of the Earth surrounded by associated control dials for use in selecting the target time period. The Omni also features two indicator lights — one red, one green — to indicate whether the flow of history had been tampered with. A flashing red light meant history had been altered and a steady green light meant that history was as it should be. The Omni must be closely guarded by its owner, as anyone who finds an Omni can use it to travel in time.
Once, Thomas Edison, while struggling to invent the electric light, even disassembled Bogg's Omni to find out how its lights worked, but was unable to discover how the device functioned. However, he was able to reassemble it back into working order. Coincidentally, the Omni was badly in need of an overhaul, and Edison's tinkering made it work "like brand new."
The episode "Agents of Satan" had an ironic twist: Bogg and Jeffrey actually land in a "green light" timeline but their very presence causes history to change when appearing during a séance, Harry Houdini thinks them to be real ghosts when they vanish before him. Jeffrey notices this Omni light change and insists they go back to correct the error so Houdini can continue to expose phony séances.
Phineas Bogg's Omni was made of brass and was hardwired to take him no further ahead than 1970 but it malfunctioned and took Bogg to 1982 where he met young Jeffrey Jones. It is unknown why the hardwiring was originally done though it is interesting to note that Jeffrey's birthday happens to be October 3, 1970 and it is insinuated that Jeffrey may eventually succeed Bogg as a full-time Voyager someday.
Not all Omnis are the same, however. In "The Trial of Phineas Bogg", Voyager Drake had a silver Omni with "open-time calibration" (presumably enabling him to go anywhere in time). In "The Travels of Marco...And Friends" Isaac "Wild Man" Wolfstein (a retired Voyager) said that his Omni only went as far ahead in time as 1925 and was, "...made of solid gold".
The Omni's cover bore the Voyager logo, an elaborate letter V, as well as the inscription "Time Waits For No Man".
[edit] The Guidebook
The Voyager Guidebook is to be carefully guarded, as it contains information of the past, present and future. The Guidebook is key in helping a Voyager find out what needs to be fixed when the Omni displays a red light. The Guidebook is referred to throughout the series and is actually used by female Voyager Olivia Dunn in the episode "Voyagers of the Titanic". (At the conclusion of that episode, in Paris, 1912, Dunn uses her guidebook to show Bogg and Jeffrey the outcome of their completed mission.)
The pages of the Guidebook were never shown in the series but it is what all Voyagers were trained to rely upon in order to complete missions. When Bogg was put on trial in the episode "The Trial of Phineas Bogg", Voyager Drake, the villain of the series, made losing his book the first criminal charge against Bogg in court.
The "lost Guidebook" plot device was very similar to the main device in, The Greatest American Hero. In the pilot episode, Bogg asks Jeffrey, "You got it there?" To which Jeffrey replies, "No, Ralph does." In 1982, Jeffrey's dog "Ralph" had grabbed Bogg's book in his teeth and was still clutching it when Bogg and Jeffrey had disappeared. "Ralph" was also the name of the "Hero" who had lost the instruction book for the alien super-suit he used in that show.
[edit] Episodes
Voyagers ran for one season for 20 episodes, during that time many historical figures were featured, among them Babe Ruth, Cleopatra, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Harriet Tubman. Over the closing credits of each episode, actor Meeno Peluce would say, "If you want to learn more about {whatever historical person or event appeared in the show}, take a voyage down to your public library. It's all in books!"
[edit] DVD release
On July 17, 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released all 20 episodes of Voyagers! on DVD in Region 1.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Voyagers! - "Complete Series" Cover Art Changes the Look of the Omni, TV Shows on DVD, April 19, 2007
[edit] External links
- Voyagers! at the Internet Movie Database
- Voyagers! at TV.com
- The Web's Best "Voyagers!" Tribute
- Voyager's Guidebook: The Ultimate Picture Fansite
- World Of Voyagers!
|
||||||||
