Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Quantum Leap Time Cops.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 19, 2018

'Travelers: Season One' has yet to be released in the United States on Blu-ray. This Australian release, courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment, is not the only release worldwide; it was also recently released in both The UK (Dazzler Media) and Canada (also Via Vision). Fortunately, this three-disc set will play in U.S./region "A" players.

Netflix’s Travelers is a show that offers little in terms of arcing novelty but it’s a Sci-Fi junkie’s perfect escape, featuring 12 binge-able episodes that are basically Timecop meets Quantum Leap with a much more elaborate narrative than the former and a more modern, cutting edge structure compared to the latter. Travelers does not necessarily trump either one of those, or any other worthwhile time travel movie or TV escape for that matter, but there’s certainly a larger focus in play, a focus on the here-and-now rather than the time of origin or some distant past. And therein lies the show’s unique properties. For the characters, it’s a continuing adjustment to the modern world and to another body, and most everything else, whether by choice or by chance, seems to take a backseat to the beautiful rendition of not necessarily deprived, but certainly restricted, future individuals indulging in and understanding modern society. The season doesn’t necessarily shift focus as it progresses but its action and core story elements begin to take over, leaving the show nicely balanced between its lighter moments, its time travel intrigue, and the meatier character and dramatic substance that builds through the season.

The world as it will be will not be a pretty place. The globe has fallen into hopeless disrepair, but enough technological know-how remains to realize the wonders of time travel -- of sorts -- which is used as a weapon to prevent the world’s downfall, both in a sweeping, generalized sense and in an effort to change history by rewriting moments of fate. Thousands of time operatives travel backwards in time but not exactly as themselves. They instead inhabit the bodies of people living in the past, but people who are mere moments away from death, essentially negating any negative impact on the timeline they know...or so they believe. Time is a tricky thing, and the travelers have all the time in the world to figure it all out; their assignments necessitate that they remain behind, in another’s body, for the remainder of their lives, to mission’s success or failure. For FBI agent Grant MacLaren (Eric McCormack), mother of one Carly Shannon (Nesta Cooper), drug addict Philip Pearson (Reilly Dolman), high school athlete Trevor Holden (Jared Abrahamson), and the previously mentally impaired Marcy Warton (MacKenzie Porter), that’s a lot of freedom, but they are at the same time required to operate under restrictive rules that are aimed at minimizing their impact on the timeline, even as their mission is to rewrite it.

When a movie or television show tackles a subject that has been a longstanding staple of a genre, in this case time travel and Science Fiction, it’s bound to bump into plot elements that are merely regurgitations of old ideas that are folded into a new story (and this one’s fairly novel given genre saturation). And, as with any time travel show, it’s the possibilities of paradoxes and the opportunities for characters to (often non-scientifically) brainstorm the possible outcomes of their actions that make for some of the meatiest moments, and that holds true here. Of course the characters deviate from protocol and decisions are made, with good intentions and bad intentions, rightly and wrongly, planned or in the moment, that necessarily threaten the very fabric of everything they know of the future, the past, and their present. But the show is light on details. It’s more concerned, and arguably rightly so, with how they explore their new realities and adjust to a new life that is radically different from their own, such as trying out modern food for the first time or enjoying conveniences and amenities that are, apparently, in short supply in the future (every resource must go into making the traveler system work).

The crew the show follows is, of course, a conveniently assembled hodgepodge of individuals with various talents, access, and opportunities to advance the narrative. It feels a little contrived, but it works. The travelers are not randomly dropped into the past but their identities are instead carefully selected with the mission in mind, but it also yields a nice and tidy dramatic cross-section of people and positions in modern society that help in building and painting narrative interest. There’s opportunity for them to interact with one another as both their established selves, now really just their consciousness, and their new physical personas (sort of like the Dax/Sisko from Deep Space Nine). Character interaction, discovery, and relationships certainly play above the action elements, many of which are a bit stock but often with some heavy drama intermixed for good measure to give each crisis a weight that feels all too relatable in a world where catastrophe seems like a daily event. But the show is as much a celebration of the “good life” that graces the world’s inhabitants in 2018 (or 2016 as was the case when the show first aired on Netflix) as it is a cautionary tale of a dim future which, beyond being the propelling force behind the show, is not really a focal point for it.

Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Travelers: Season One's 1080p transfer is largely typical of modern TV shows releasing on Blu-ray. The digital source photography translates very well to Blu-ray, with minimal appearances of digital flatness or smoothness. Textural efficiency is very high. Various close-up shots prove quite revealing, down to not only intimate pores and lines but beyond that presenting individual eyelashes and eyebrows, for example, in very tight-in shots, with great clarity. Clothing textures are fine and location details are rich and dense, particularly around city exteriors but also in more refined, slicker, and cleaner interiors, too. Colors are satisfyingly neutral, finding just the right, and agreeable, level of vitality. Contrast is very even, nothing runs hot or cool as a rule, and black levels appear deep and dense without crushing out significant detailing. Skin tones appear accurate though they are prone to understandable fluctuations in various lighting conditions. As far as eyesores go, banding can be significant in spots and noise a little less so, though both do feature prominently from time to time. Overall, this is a very good, but not necessarily dazzling, Blu-ray presentation.

Note that IMDB lists the show's original aspect ratio at 2.00:1, but this Blu-ray is presented at 1.78:1.

Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Travelers: Season One brings no soundtrack from the future, sticking with a fairly basic Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless presentation. It's fine for the show's needs, which are not often significant. Music finds good stretch and depth, enjoying strong low end definition as necessary and fine clarity throughout the range, with more intensive notes just as precise as more gentle ones. Support effects of all types and sizes, from idling trucks to hefty action sweeps, find good placement and detailing in every occurrence. City atmospherics and additional low-key insertions of environmental details always present with good stage placement and immersive, scene-complimenting presentation and detailing. Dialogue is fine, playing with firm and natural front-center placement, verbal clarity, and effortless prioritization.

Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Travelers: Season One contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital versions are included, and the review copy did not ship with a slipcover.

Travelers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Travelers doesn't meet the criteria for "compelling" television, but it's very good TV junk food, a binge-able and well crafted little series with a cross-section of interesting characters (more so for their interactions than their personas) who must adjust to a new place and a new body, all while trying to save the world multiple times over. It's highly enjoyable entertainment and a worthwhile show to catch on Blu-ray. Travelers: Season One may lack special features, but video and audio presentations are fine. Recommended.