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Journeyman Season 1 Episode 7

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9.3

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/5/07

Dan isn't happy when Katie considers going back to work as a television journalist. In the past Dan tries to save a witness from being killed. Livia shows up just in time to save Dan's future. Jack keeps looking into what's going on with Dan.

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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

We get to jump around alot as per usual, but with the added distraction that Jack has some of the Dylan McCleen money in his possession after doing some babysitting,whilst at the same time trying to keep a federal witness safe so they are able to testify.moreless

9.4

By captainbritain, Jul 18, 2008

It starts off with Jack babysitting Zack, then for supper Zack wanting pizza but Jack not having any money, Zack suggesting they use some of Daddy's play money, Jack gets suspicious and looks at it, then takes one to have it checked at work.

Dan and Katie managed to enjoy a semi sort of date, but when he goes to take out the trash, he jumps, into the back of a man's car - they stop, he gets asked to get out which he does, only to be fired upon by 2 chinese looking punks, Dan ends up taking the guy to the hospital as he was shot by one of the guys, the guy pulls through, but Dan doesn't jump back to his own time.

Livia arrives at Dan's place in 1997, to help him clear up after the chinese/oriental henchman had trashed the place, they find his pass from his usual time and now Livia believes that they are here to stop the timeline changing and to save Dan. The get the apartment cleaned up, leave and nearly bump into the past Dan and Katie, so end up eavesdropping on himself.

Meanwhile, Jack has a visit from the FBI and gets informed about it being a bill from the Dylan McCleen heist, he blaggs it and tells him that it was from a confidential source, but that he will ask more questions and let him know of his findings.

Back in the past, Livia and Dan are watching Dan's place when they se he leave for a late night poker game, they follow and whilst they are waiting to decide what to do, the gang members show up. After an hour or so, the other Dan comes out, slightly drunk, Dan decides he needs to prevent him from meeting the gang members and decided to warn him, but ends up fighting him. Livia helps and between them they get him out of there, but they get him back to his place without him seeing himself.

Katie goes to see her friend, they chat and she agrees to go back and do a couple of shifts a week, but no morning starts as she has a 7 year old, he's happy she is coming back, but he does ask if Dan is back gambling.

The realise that they need to complete the original night, which means Dan going back, getting his poker money and going back to the game, as that's the night when Katie was really there for him, but he doesnt have the start up amount. But Livia disappears into the future to get the money from the closet just as Jack came to look for it. Dan in the past, follows the gang members to the hospital and stops them from shooting the witness.

The fellow from the network in the past had phoned Katie to tell him that Dan was losing it big time, so she comes to get him from the game, takes him home and ends up staying to look after him, thus not changing the timeline.moreless
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All of Dan's time-traveling adventures begin to culminate in this episode, and the FBI finally gets involved. Meanwhile, in the past, Dan is tracking...himself?

8.7

By Exile29, Nov 21, 2007

This is one thing I absolutely love about Journeyman. A show like this could be played off in the vein of Reaper or Supernatural...it would have a few arcing story elements, but each episode could also stand on its own. Anyone could come in and watch any episode and get it. A lot of people would actually prefer that, but I'm the exact opposite. I enjoy shows that have a story that flows in one direction, with each episode connecting to the next. And although each episode of Journeyman is substantially different, and there is a different person for Dan to track, they all come back up in later episodes and shape the major story arc (Dan's present life with Katie and Zach).

We see a good example of that with this episode. Zach is young, and he thinks that this whole time-traveling business is all one big game. So, naturally, when Uncle Jack is over playing Monopoly, he thinks it's perfectly OK to show him a big briefcase full of stolen money from the 1970's. Also, naturally, Jack thinks this is very strange, especially since Zach mentions that Dan was the person who acquired this money.

It's kind of one of those unfortunate situations--the relationship between Jack and Dan. Jack is gruff and doesn't ever come right out and say it, but ultimately, his sole purpose for all of the "surveillance" and the questioning is to help Dan. And although Dan appreciates it, he can't really tell Jack anything. It's interesting, because it's kind of like a lose-lose situation. If Dan doesn't say something, then Jack's going to continue to think he's back into gambling and try to get him help for an addiction that he's already beaten. If he does tell him, there's a good chance that Jack will have him committed.

Anyhow, the person that Dan tracks in this episode is...well, himself. We see an interesting take on time-travel, as Dan has to be careful to hide himself...from himself. Since the time period wasn't that long ago, he was able to actually interchange and use his present self to act in place of his past self so that he could stay in a poker game and ensure that him and Katie end up married. Sound confusing? It is. But don't worry, the writers do a good job of tying up all the loose ends and making the story seem believable...at least, as believable as Journeyman can be.

This episode was pretty dang good. It was a little far-fetched in terms of the past story...I mean, in most time-traveling shows/movies, the space-time continuum gets incredibly disrupted if your past and future selves come into contact. But it still ended up with a satisfying conclusion. Solid episode.moreless
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Things get more complicated

8.0

By entil2001, Nov 15, 2007

The typical format for a season arc would suggest that this episode begins the shift from the introductory phase of the season to the complication phase, when previously established plot elements begin to overlap and conflict. This is when the writers begin to show their cards: is this simply an episodic show with a few overarching elements, or is there a more cohesive plan?

The answer given in this episode is rather definitive. All the little mistakes and intersections with history from the first several episodes have come home to roost, and it is not going to be an easy fix. Jack's personal suspicions have led to something far less discreet and far more impersonal. Where Jack might have held back for Katie's sake, the FBI has no such compulsion. The final moment of this episode literally changes everything for the Vassar family.

This episode focuses more on the delicate period after Livia's apparent death, when Dan fell into a personal downward spiral and Katie was the one ready to help him climb back into the light. This kind of story needed time to develop, because now the audience is well-educated on the personal dynamics. Every moment of that fateful night has an effect on Dan and Livia as they struggle to preserve Dan's "present" existence, and that becomes one of the more important underlying conflicts.

The writers do play fast and loose with the idea that Dan can step into earlier moments in his life without anyone noticing the difference in age, but this has always been one of the conceits of the show. The entire cast seems to look exactly the same for more than a decade, but how else would it work on a television budget? Frankly, I think the show benefits from the attention given to character consistency over technical details.

This is the first time we've seen the time travel from Livia's point of view, which is a very nice touch, and it's also the longest period of time that Dan has been away from his family. Dan's absence plays directly into Jack's eventual confrontation with the FBI, and Livia gets to react to Dan's "present" lifestyle. This makes Livia a lot more interesting and versatile as a character, bringing her out of the background as a more active presence.

In the end, this is the episode where things escalate to a completely new level, and it does so through careful progression of established plot elements. This requires a talented and patient writing staff. Using the same episode to delve into a key moment in Dan's past history demonstrates how the deep the focus on the personal cost of this "time travel" can be. That creative decision has made this show the most mature and satisfying series to debut this season.moreless
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Review

9.2

By cavanagh15, Nov 14, 2007

Make this three consecutive episodes in a row now for the Journeyman writing staff. Ryan Chappelle from 24 returns, albeit only for a few scenes, and the final scene made me miss him from his days on 24. He looks like he might become an important character in the next couple of episodes, now that he is going to be poking around with this investigation. Interesting flip by Jack telling the man, after last week I thought Jack and Dan were growing so much closer together and Dan was going to find out about the time traveling. Turns out not to be the case as Jack seems to have reached his limits with Dan and his disapeering. I thought the episode started off very good, but the middle still felt a little rushed to me. The episode was clearly an emotional one as he was trying to save himself, so you almost would have liked to see this be a two hour episode, but that was not to be for this case. Overall, I think the episode was very good, solid once again.moreless
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excellent

10

By sfviewer, Nov 11, 2007

Jack babysits for Dan and Katie's boy while they go out for a date. Jack gets to see Dan's bag of money. It gets his attention and starts an investigation onto the money's origins. This leads an FBI investigator to come to Jack's precinct. Dan comes home from a date with Katie and he travels back in time to the year 1999. He helps out a man from getting killed by asian gangsters. At the present time, Jack continues to investigate about the stolen dollar note. This episode raises the stakes for Dan and his time traveling escapades. I'm so excited about next week's episode.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Kevin McKidd	Dan Vasser
Gretchen Egolf	Katie Vasser
Moon Bloodgood	Livia Beale
Reed Diamond	Jack Vasser
Charlie Wyson	Zack Vasser
Brian Howe	Hugh Skillen

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Alain Uy	Martin Fenner	Guest Star
Lucas Caleb Rooney		Guest Star
Don Franklin	Ed Macklin	Guest Star

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (2)
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- Dan: This wasn't exactly my best year.
  Livia: I don't know if I ever said it, but ... I want you to know, I'm sorry.
  Dan: For what?
  Livia: For leaving ... for not telling you the truth. Wasn't easy for me either.
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- Livia: How much money are we talking about?
  Dan: I had over twenty thousand dollars in that drawer, give or take a few.
  Livia: You never heard of a bank?
  Dan: It wasn't exactly tax deductible.
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NOTES (2)
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- Music In Episode:
  "Livin' La Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin
  "Lucky Man" - The Verve
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- The hospital scene was filmed at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood, California. which until recently (to the airing of the episode), was a fully functional hospital with emergency services.
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