# Is there any book or movie where going back in time is a good thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879 "2012-06-02T17:07:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/41 "2012-06-03T18:49:15Z")
There was a short-lived series called _Journeyman,_ in which a guy started popping into the past and figured out he was intended to fix stuff that had gone wrong, or make sure the right things happened. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/42 "2012-06-04T00:36:00Z")
Well, if Sawyer never went back in time, he never would’ve hooked up with Juliette, and that was a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![TaoPilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TaoPilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaoPilot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/43 "2012-06-04T05:12:22Z")
I haven’t seen it in a while, but I seem to remember Time Cop having things work out for the better. Also, a book called Time Craft, where a woman travels back in time several centuries to rescue her parents; however, they were of course there as a result of earlier time travel, so I’m not sure if that cancels it out. What about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban… since we learned they didn’t really _change_ history so much as fulfill it, I guess that one doesn’t count as well. OK, maybe I don’t have any good examples after all. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/44 "2012-06-04T14:01:59Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > There was a short-lived series called _Journeyman,_ in which a guy started popping into the past and figured out he was intended to fix stuff that had gone wrong, or make sure the right things happened. For that matter, **Quantum Leap**. At least, things worked out better (usually) for the people Sam helped, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/45 "2012-06-04T14:03:20Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > **Door Into Summer** : a guy who was gotten rid of by being placed in cryostasis is able to go back in time and set things up so his adversaries’ victory is a hollow one and he himself turns out for the better. I think Heinlein’s story “By His Bootstraps” also qualifies. The protagonist ends up much better than he starts out, by virtue of backwards (and forwards) time travel. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879/46 "2012-06-04T16:42:46Z")
**A Swiftly Tilting Planet** : by going back in time, history is altered so a dictator doesn’t start a nuclear war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-book-or-movie-where-going-back-in-time-is-a-good-thing/623879.md?page=2)