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Posts Tagged “

time travel

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lost

Discover The Secret Of Lost. Maybe.

The secret to Lost may be the kind of thing that Samuel Beckett knows a thing or two about. Not Samuel Beckett the writer, however; I'm talking about Scott Bakula's displaced scientist from 1980s time-hopping show Quantum Leap. At least, that's the theory behind Jason Hunter's website, called Lost: A Theory on Time Travel.
More »

6:30 AM on Thu May 15 2008
By Graeme McMillan
3,501 views, 33 comments

Tom Holt Explains Why Do-Gooder Time Travelers Muck Things Up Scifi satirist Tom Holt, author of several weird books, has just written up a short article explaining why it would be a bad idea to save the world if you were to travel in time. Specifically, he points out that if you were to try to stop the Black Death from ravaging Europe, you would save Feudalism and screw the future forever. See, why don't the people in the Terminator franchise ever think about that? By destroying Skynet, they're probably preserving some crappy thing that will bite us all in the ass in 500 years. [Orbit]

11 comments

found footage

Timegasms Are Not Pretty

The best part of time travel movies is always when the crazy scientist/inventor/engineer babbles madly about the hoozits that will allow time to be bent. Even better is when the hoozits swing into action and we see the "traveling in time" effects. Except in Richard Donner's Timeline, which is perhaps one of the worst time travel movies ever made. So bad, in fact, that it is hypnotic. Especially in this scene, where our team of medievalist dweebs is shoved into RenFaire outfits, stuck into a time machine on some ill-defined rescue mission, and shipped off to 1357 in France . . . right at the zoomiest part of the 100 years war. Of course Joan of Arc is there and a bunch of other stupid crap. But let's not focus on that. Let's watch our time travelers travel in the most transcendently dorky way imaginable! [Timeline]

10:21 PM on Tue Apr 29 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,768 views, 36 comments

Latest by gfburke: BSAKat - Back to the Future was already mentioned, but I wonder if you've seen Primer, probably one of the smartest sci fi movies ever made. more »

ashes to ashes

The '80s Stay Alive for BBC Time Travel Drama "Ashes to Ashes"

Break out your legwarmers and Frankie Says t-shirts - BBC time travel drama Ashes to Ashes has been given a second season despite losing more than a fifth of its audience by the end of its first. The show, which follows policewoman Alex Drake after she finds herself stuck in 1981 after being shot in 2008, is a sequel to the similarly-plotted Life on Mars, which starred John Simms (better known to US audiences as The Master in the third season of Doctor Who) as a policeman trapped in the early '70s following a contemporary shooting. More »

8:00 AM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Graeme McMillan
1,685 views, 29 comments

Latest by Hypatia: @ElijahDProphet: Yeah, my girlfriend and I are still arguing over what was really going on. I like that, though. more »

doctor who

Davison: I'll Be Back As Doctor If You Want Me

If the internet ever bores of wondering who will replace David Tennant to be the new Doctor, there's now a new possibility: Replace him with an old Doctor. Following his appearance in last November's special episode Time Crash, Fifth Doctor Peter Davison has admitted that he would be perfectly willing to return to Doctor Who if the need ever arose. More »

8:20 AM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Graeme McMillan
2,300 views, 21 comments

time travel

Physicists Say Lost Features Realistic Time Travel

Last week, TV audiences boggled at one of the best Lost episodes in recent memory, where a character traveled through time guided somehow by his conscience. The twisty turns in the episode may have been surprising, but not nearly as shocking as what I'm about to tell you. The scientific basis for the time travel scenario in Lost is actually sound. An actual, practicing physicist told Popular Mechanics that the episode included several details that fit with what theoretical physicists think would be involved in timeskipping. More »

9:20 AM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Annalee Newitz
4,345 views, 35 comments

Latest by Defendant: @Jeff-Minor: It's called fiction for a reason. It will never be a reality, let alone a possibility. more »

lost recap

Lost Goes Time Traveling and We Sort It Out for You

When my husband got home from band practice last night, I had good and bad news for him. Last night's episode of Lost was the best in a long time, I told him, maybe one of the best ever—but, alas, our VCR didn't record it. (I know, we don't have TiVo, we live in the dark ages.) "The Constant" was a return to first- or second-season form: fast paced, entertaining, and enlightening. When it threatened to end on a note veering into soap opera territory, it came roaring back with one of those great Twilight Zone surprise twist endings that make Lost, when it's good, so very good. Let's get down to spoilers and discussion after the jump. More »

12:42 PM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Lynn Peril
5,951 views, 86 comments

Latest by MojoFilter: @El_Bandito: I can't remember what the address was for, but that street was part of the find815 ARG. more »

time travel

Los Angeles is Open for Your Time Travel Business

If you're a temporal traveler stuck between decades and you find yourself in need of Mammoth Chunks, Anti-Robot Fluid, or Barbarian Repellent, you can now head to Time Travel Mart in Echo Park, Los Angeles. They'll probably have it in stock. Unfortunately, you'll have to come back yesterday if you want something from the Time-Freezy Hyper Slush machine — that's the last time it was working properly. No problem! You're a busy time traveler, but everybody needs a hyper slushie. Find out more inside, and check out our gallery of chronolistic goodness. More »

10:20 AM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By Kevin Kelly
4,630 views, 17 comments

Latest by MickyK: that water is very expensive... more »

timecrimes

Time Travel + Porn = Nacho Vigalondo

Timecrimes might be the second best film involving time travel to come out of Sundance (top honors go to Primer, and Timecrimes writer/director Nacho Vigalondo is a fan of it). In a recent interview, Vigalondo being a comic book nerd (he's pictured here with a copy of fave book The Ultimates), and why porn and time travel are the best combination ever. More »

2:30 PM on Tue Feb 19 2008
By Kevin Kelly
2,666 views, 11 comments

found footage

Timecop Kicks You In The Head With Science

An evil hench-yuppie gets his arm frozen in liquid nitrogen and then shattered in this awesome fight scene from Timecop, the greatest martial arts time-travel movie ever. Few movies combine martial arts and wacky science as well as Timecop does, and we can never get enough of the super-frozen flesh-shattering sound effect. Timecop also has the coolest method of time travel ever, involving a flame-belching rocket-train that runs into a wall as fast as it can. Click through for a clip of Jean-Claude Van Damme ramming the fourth dimension. More »

12:20 PM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,605 views, 15 comments

Latest by EBone: How do they get back to the future? (please excuse the pun). Really, I've never seen the film and would like to know. more »

triviagasm

How to Travel Through Time in Nine Easy Steps

Everyone wants a personal time travel device, but with so many different devices to choose from, how do you make a well-informed decision? Everyone knows about Doc Brown's Delorean, the Doctor's TARDIS, and H.G. Wells' contrapulation, but what about some of the other time time travel gizmos? We walk you through the nine best ones, and explain how each one can take you back to that painful high school moment. More »

11:35 AM on Thu Feb 7 2008
By Kevin Kelly
17,085 views, 61 comments

time after time

Time Traveling Musical About H.G. Wells and Jack The Ripper in 1979 San Francisco

H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) pursues Jack the Ripper (David Warner) across time in the 1979 film Time After Time, set in a Morlock-free San Francisco. In this cult favorite, Wells invents a time machine in 1893, zooms into the "present" and meets a woman in what he considers a dystopian future (imagine thinking the future would be all gleaming steel and floating airships and ending up in Haight-Ashbury in 1979). Then he zaps Jack the Ripper, and heads back to his own time (lady in hand) to live happily ever after. It might not sound like something you'd ever see adapted into a musical, but brace yourselves for its Broadway debut sometime later this year if things go as planned. More »

3:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Kevin Kelly
796 views, 21 comments

Latest by sneggleblech: @Garrison Dean: rotflmao more »

hard to be a god

Smite Primitive Screwheads With Your Laser Gun

Ever wanted to carry a laser gun back in time to the Dark Ages and have everyone worship you as some sort of demigod before they eventually overthrow your ass and toss you down a well? Well, now you can. Ascaron Entertainment is releasing the role-playing game Hard To Be A God in April, and it's probably exactly what you'd get if you crossed Star Wars with World of Warcraft. More »

10:00 AM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Kevin Kelly
7,704 views, 27 comments

Latest by engtech: I've tried out the demo. It's meh... 3/5 stars was right. It reminds my of Ultima for some reason. The combat system is pretty screwed, and the dialogue is very iffy. And that camera! Maybe there's a setting I haven't found yet more »

poll

Which Dead Sci Fi Show Should Breathe Again?

The writers strike will really start to take its toll on television this winter. Many fall shows won't ever wake up from the winter hibernation, and everyone will get sick of game shows and reality TV offerings. So, we've begun working on the io9 time circuits and blowing the dust out of our flux transistors (capacitors, what a joke). What television shows would you like to see return from the graveyard of canceled shows and appear back on TV with brand new episodes? Take a spin on the poll below and let us know. More »

11:05 AM on Tue Jan 8 2008
By Kevin Kelly
47,812 views, 181 comments

Latest by helloandre: Please give us Farscape. Love the see-what-you're-typing feature, bytheway. Is this wordpress? more »

time crimes

Time Travel Turns Ordinary Guy Into Monster

Time travel corrupts absolutely in Time Crimes, the new movie from Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo. A guy travels back in time by accident and meets himself, along with a mysterious creepy figure whose head is wrapped in pink rags. The ability to exist in an infinite number of circumstances thanks to time travel inevitably draws our hero towards evil, according to the Sundance-bound movie's official site. It sounds like a darker, scarier version of time-travel thriller Primer. Click through for a gallery of stills. More »

8:20 AM on Tue Jan 8 2008
By charliejane
1,653 views, 13 comments

Latest by Plague: If you didn't understand Primer or the ending, you weren't paying close enough attention. And you have to have a villain in a movie? Hmm. Must of missed that memo. more »

terminator: the sarah connor chronicles

io9 Talks to the Makers (and Star) of the Sarah Connor Chronicles

io9 spoke with star Lena Headey and producer James Middleton of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles today to try and torture secrets out of them, Skynet-style. Luckily, we also sent robot duplicates of ourselves back in time to infiltrate the set while they were filming, and to take out the future leader of the human resistance. Check out what we learned after the jump, and tune in when this show gets started on Sunday night. More »

2:40 PM on Mon Jan 7 2008
By Kevin Kelly
2,219 views, 12 comments

triviagasm

What To Put Into Your Spaceship's Gas Tank

Since most science fiction vehicles don't run on unleaded gasoline, would you even know what to fill the tank with if you were lucky enough to get behind the wheel? With everything out there from warp cores to specialized space fuel, here's a handy list that lets you know what powers some of the more popular vehicles around the galaxy, just in case you find yourself stranded and need to call AAA. More »

3:40 PM on Wed Jan 2 2008
By Kevin Kelly
5,756 views, 70 comments

found footage

Back To What Future?


This "ouch I can't believe they did that" clip showcases everything that's wrong with Back To the Future 2. It's a shot-for-shot reprise of a sequence from the first movie, where Michael J. Fox gets away from some bullies. Except this time, he uses a "hoverboard" and hitches a ride with a flying car. In other words, the future looks just like the past, except with a little pixie dust. That's why the sequel's future isn't as thrilling as the original's past. More »

9:00 AM on Mon Dec 31 2007
By charliejane
1,963 views, 8 comments

Latest by jesustonight: its always the same with future stuff .Like the robinsons mom doing all the "space" house work we transpose our own culture to the sci fi setting.Demolition man worked for me , i liked how a giant earth quake had more »