Voyagers!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Voyagers! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photo of Phineas and Jeffrey |
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| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Creator(s) | James D. Parriott |
| Starring | Meeno Peluce, Jon-Erik Hexum |
| Opening theme | J.A.C. Redford |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 20 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | James D. Parriott |
| Running time | 45 min. per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| First shown in | October 3, 1982 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Voyagers! was a time travel-based television series broadcast in the 1982-1983 season on NBC, starting on October 3, 1982.
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 where it was met by 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, and so Bogg had to rely on Jeffrey (whose father was a history professor) to help him.
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 Snibbitz, yet he usually wins doing so. Phineas is also a great womanizer and manages to fall for a beautiful woman in almost every single time period he is in.
Many historical figures appeared in this series, among them Babe Ruth, Cleopatra, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Harriet Tubman. Over the closing credits of each episode, actor Peluce said, "If you want to learn more about {whoever appeared in the show}, take a voyage down to your public library; it's all in books!"
One year after the show ended, Jon-Erik Hexum suffered an accidental fatal gunshot wound to the head on the set of his next show Cover Up with Jennifer O'Neill.
Contents |
[edit] The Time Machine
The Omni is a small device used by Voyagers to travel in time.
The Omni 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 scale model 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 their owners: anyone who finds an Omni can use it to travel in time. Once, Thomas Edison, while struggling to invent the electric light, even attempted to disassemble an 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.
Phineas Bogg's Omni was made of brass and 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. The Omni bore the inscription "Time Waits For No Man" on the lid cover which has the Voyager logo engraved on it; an elaborate letter V.
[edit] The Guidebook
Alongside of being issued their Omni, The Voyagers Guidebook was given to a Voyager Recruit as he or she graduated from Voyager School. The Guidebook was to be carefully guarded as it contained secrets of the past, present or future and was key in helping the Voyager figure out what needed to be fixed if the Omni indicated a red light. The Guidebook is referred to throughout the series in many episodes and is actually used in the episode: "Voyagers Of The Titanic" by female Voyager: Olivia Dunn. (At the conclusion of the episode in Paris, 1912, Dunn uses her own guidebook to show Bogg and Jeff the historical outcome of their now 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.
[edit] Episode list
[edit] External links
- Voyagers! at the Internet Movie Database
- Voyagers! at TV.com
- The "Unofficial" Voyagers! Home Page
- The Web's Best "Voyagers!" Tribute
- Voyagers! Screencaps Archive
| Voyagers! | ||
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Actors: Meeno Peluce • Jon-Erik Hexum |
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Characters: Jeffrey Jones • Phineas Bogg |
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Media: List of Voyagers! episodes |
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