# "Timeless" New Time Travel Show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613 "2016-10-04T03:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/122 "2016-10-25T21:02:17Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Kinda lame to make Ian Fleming an actual spy. 4 episodes into a time travel show and they’re just making stuff up? He was an intelligence operative and later a commando in WW2. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/123 "2016-10-25T21:16:27Z")
BTW, it’s kind of awkward to have an African-American as part of the team when you’re on a mission in Nazi Germany. Makes it hard to blend in (even more so than the fact that only one of them spoke German). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/124 "2016-10-25T21:25:10Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > He was an intelligence operative and later a commando in WW2. No, he wasn’t. He directed commandos and planned operations. I have never heard a peep about him being an operative behind enemy lines let alone impersonating a German officer in the belly of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/125 "2016-10-25T21:28:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Kinda lame to make Ian Fleming an actual spy. 4 episodes into a time travel show and they’re just making stuff up? You’re saying this about a show that rewrote the Hindenberg disaster and then the Lincoln assassination? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/126 "2016-10-25T21:38:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > You’re saying this about a show that rewrote the Hindenberg disaster and then the Lincoln assassination? Uhh, yes. They were re-writing actual historical events. It’s a time travel show. Unless we are to assume fiddling with the Lincoln assassination changed Fleming’s career path, the last show re-wrote a completely made up event. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/127 "2016-10-26T12:48:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > OK, what was the Tom Lehrer reference? I must have missed it. I don’t remember the exact wording, but in the confrontation between Rufus and Von Braun, Von Braun came very close to saying “Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?” ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/128 "2016-10-26T12:58:28Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > No, he wasn’t. He directed commandos and planned operations. I have never heard a peep about him being an operative behind enemy lines let alone impersonating a German officer in the belly of the beast. That was the traditional belief, and is mostly true, however, recently it has emerged that he did in fact go on missions, [at least one to Occupied France](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8913384/Ian-Flemings-Commandos-The-Story-of-30-Assault-Unit-in-WWII-by-Nicholas-Rankin-review.html). > [@](#): > > e learn that in June 1940, as France was falling to the Germans, Commander Ian Fleming RNVR was sent on a secret mission to the temporary seat of government in Tours to determine Admiral Darlan’s plans for the French navy in the event of surrender ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/129 "2016-10-26T13:48:03Z")
I liked the fact that there was now a whole new James Bond movie, with Connery. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/130 "2016-10-26T16:36:49Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > That was the traditional belief, and is mostly true, however, recently it has emerged that he did in fact go on missions, [at least one to Occupied France](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8913384/Ian-Flemings-Commandos-The-Story-of-30-Assault-Unit-in-WWII-by-Nicholas-Rankin-review.html). Well technically, that was just before France was fully occupied and it wasn’t as a spy, it was a secret diplomatic mission. With the Germans banging on the door, I’m sure it was a scary mission but it’s a far cry from impersonating a German officer at a missile launch party inside Germany proper. They just decided to turn him into James Bond which was off putting for me. That is an interesting bit of Fleming trivia though, so thanks! Eta: btw, it’s generally thought that much of James Bond’s character was based on [Sydney Reilly](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly) ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/131 "2016-10-26T22:14:01Z")
Iffy on this show, but one thing I will say - I really appreciate the brevity of the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/132 "2016-10-27T13:18:51Z")
I managed to knock out the first two episodes last night, and I enjoyed it. I’d like to see more information on how the present changes with each mission. It would not be at all surprising to me if Flynn’s team turns out to be a) the good guys or b) under the control of Matt Frewer’s character. Mostly because there’s no way “kidnapping victim” is all the producers plan on using Matt Frewer for. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/133 "2016-10-27T13:35:07Z")
I’ll say this for the show: It’s educational. I’ll often find myself pausing the show so I can Google whatever it is they’re talking about. I mean, all the stuff they’ve covered so far is fairly common knowledge but it’s nice to read up on it to get a deeper appreciation of the show. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/134 "2016-11-01T13:17:28Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Well technically, that was just before France was fully occupied and it wasn’t as a spy, it was a secret diplomatic mission. With the Germans banging on the door, I’m sure it was a scary mission but it’s a far cry from impersonating a German officer at a missile launch party inside Germany proper. They just decided to turn him into James Bond which was off putting for me. > > That is an interesting bit of Fleming trivia though, so thanks! > > Eta: btw, it’s generally thought that much of James Bond’s character was based on [Sydney Reilly](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly) Another piece of trivia, Fleming and his wife we into really really hardcore BDSM. Visitors to their GoldenEye estate mentioned the inordinate amount of towels and hairbrushes (:eek:), belts etc that were strewn about and the fact that sometimes Mrs Fleming had a very hard time sitting. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/135 "2016-11-01T17:38:14Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Another piece of trivia, Fleming and his wife we into really really hardcore BDSM. Visitors to their GoldenEye estate mentioned the inordinate amount of towels and hairbrushes (:eek:), belts etc that were strewn about and the fact that sometimes Mrs Fleming had a very hard time sitting. Spanking is more like _softcore_ BDSM. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/136 "2016-11-10T03:55:29Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > OK show, but I have a hard time believing they could pick a jail cell with the wire from a bra. Wife dissected the underwires from a bra and, true to form, left them laying around the bedroom. The one on the bed nearly dissected me. Stiff, thin, and would make excellent picks for the cell locks of the time. However, I always thought their role was in support. The beautiful Ms Spencer is what? An A-cup? Lift and separation would seem superfluous when, if you ladies will pardon me, everything is as lifted and separated as it can be already. But yeah, if he thought about it, McGuyver himself would wear an underwire bra on missions. And titter prettily when TSA scanners noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/137 "2016-11-30T00:24:11Z")
Loved the “Space Race” episode. Just finished reading **Hidden Figures** about Katherine Johnson and the black calculators and here she is in person! And the white vest on Kraft. And the X-files reference with FBI agent Mulder! Excellent writing. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/138 "2016-11-30T02:37:09Z")
"Space Race’ episode - I’ll bet no one else here noticed that Rufus? put the tape on the tape drive backwards (BTW, the blue tape reel had a yellow ring around the center. This enabled the tape to be written on, but it had to be on the invisible side when the tape was mounted). And, I don’t think any computer had 2 megabytes on memory; that was what tapes were for (and long term storage, of course). I was a computer operator at Kennedy Space Center pre-Apollo. post paper-tape (mostly) but lots of punch cards and magnetic tape. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/139 "2016-11-30T08:35:25Z")
Ok, I’m mostly liking the series, but they’re playing pretty fast and loose with history to make the stories more simplistic and kind of dumbed down. “the space race was much closer than most people think”. actually it’s totally the opposite. Although we thought so at the time, Russia never got anywhere near able to put men on the Moon. They just casually mention a ‘communist attack on mission control’ that sabotages the computers and nearly killed two astronauts? That’d pretty much be the start of world war III. But they make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal. And how come Matt Frewer’s character could travel to 1969 without trouble? Unless he’s a lot younger than he looks, he was already alive then, and I thought that wasn’t allowed… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/140 "2016-11-30T08:56:21Z")
I think its more an operational rule rather than a technical one, that people don’t react well to meeting themselves. And did’nt Flynn write himself out of existence? Mom might not have moved overseas, met Daddy if she had not lost her only son earlier. Like Mother like Son is losing spouse and child though. I thought the whole “black woman savior” plot was dealt with poorly. The real life lady was not in the basement, she was a valued member of her team (and apparently someone who people were scared of ;)). She was also i) older than her actress, she was in her early 50’s at the time and ii) during the landing was up in the mountains, not at mission control. As was the whole feminist inspired “I have a name” “make your own coffee”; seriously? The former is understandable, the later, thats what the secretarial and assistance staff was there for. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613/141 "2016-11-30T17:38:12Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I think its more an operational rule rather than a technical one, that people don’t react well to meeting themselves. From the pilot, it sounds like two of the same person can’t be at the same point in time: > [@](#): > > Wyatt: Ok, just one thing I don’t get. Apparently this time machine works. So why don’t we just go back five minutes before Flynn stormed in and shoot him in the face? > > Rufus: You can’t go back to any time where you already exist, where you might meet a double of yourself. It is bad for the fabric of reality. > > Wyatt: Define “bad.” > > Rufus: We tried it once. The pilot came back, but not all of him. > [@](#): > > And did’nt Flynn write himself out of existence? Mom might not have moved overseas, met Daddy if she had not lost her only son earlier. > Like Mother like Son is losing spouse and child though. Yeah, he was taking a pretty big chance of that happening. Most likely they aren’t going to address that issue. Too bad Wyatt didn’t figure out what was going on. He could have just shot Flynn’s mom, Flynn winks out of existence, problem solved. 🙂 Something I’m wondering. Anthony (Matt Frewer) added the nuclear core to their time machine so that now it doesn’t have to be recharged. Does that mean they don’t have to return directly to the present after a trip to the past? If so, the smart thing to do would be to go back in time, wait there long enough for the heroes to go after them, then jump to another time in the past to actually do whatever bad stuff they really had planned. The folks in the present would know what they’ve done, but they’d have no way to tell Wyatt, Lucy and Rufus. Eventually they’d return to the present and say: “I dunno. We wandered around 14th century Mongolia for a week and never bumped into Flynn”. 🙂 Flynn attempting to sabotage the lifeboat in the past was a good idea. I don’t think they’ve mentioned it, but I’m guessing there’s no way to travel into the future? And how much time traveling had they done before Flynn stole his machine? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeless-new-time-travel-show/767613.md?page=8)