Time Travel [Past]

-:The Time Machine:-

The original cover of "The Time Machine" released 1895 (Wells, H. 2007)

"Considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, this book coined the term “Time Machine” which is almost exclusively used to refer to any device that allows humans to move through time." (Keith, F. Sweeney, R. 2007)

“A fantastic book! Relatively easy to read (saying a lot for some 19th century literature) and the sheer imagination involved given the time is, at times, breathtaking.” (McCathy, D. 2010) 

“I was surprised at how much I liked this book. It is simple but gripping and introduces some interesting ideas.” (Hudgins, J. 2009)

H.G.Wells is thought to be one of the first authors to use the concept of “Time Travel” in this books. He was a very popular science fiction writer and created other famous novels such as “War of the Worlds”, “The Conquest of Time” and “The Invisible Man”. It’s quite amazing how he wrote about the idea of Time Travel over 100 years ago and it’s developed into this whole sub-genre, including scientists such as Einstein developing theories on the matter. 

"H.G. Wells' novel opens with the Time Traveler explaining his plans to travel in time to a group of his Victorian peers (most only named by an occupational label.) The next scene is a dinner party a week later with the narrator and a few of the Time Traveler's previous guests. The Time Traveler enters the room in terrible shape. After he has cleaned up and has eaten, he begins to tell them of his trip in time.

The narratorial voice switches to that of the Traveler himself, and he tells them that he went to the year 802701 A.D. The England of the distant future is a beautiful place, almost a Utopia, but civilization is in majestic ruin. He first encounters the Eloi, a race of pretty, vacuous beings descended from humans. All other animals are apparently extinct, and the vegetarian Eloi have every need mysteriously provided for. Then, he discovers that someone has taken his time machine and he is frantic until he realizes that it has been locked in the bronze base of a nearby statue. He gives up on trying to free his machine, and later saves a drowning Eloi named Weena.

Weena tags along with the Traveler, and he soon discovers the existence of the Morlocks, a race of subterranean creatures descended from the human working class that maintain the underground machines that support the Eloi. He goes off exploring in the countryside with Weena in tow, and in the process of going through a ruined museum he lets the time get away from him and the Morlocks come out to attack after dark. He gets away from them, but inadvertently starts a forest fire and Weena is killed in the chaos.

The Traveler makes it back to the statue and finds that the doors are open. He goes inside to get his machine, and the Morlocks try to trap him. The Traveler manages to escape and goes far into the future to a time where the place he once lived is a beach with monstrous crabs. He travels on to an era near the end of the world, a time of darkness and cold. Then, he returns to his own time.

The only one who seems to believe his story is the narrator. The narrator goes into the lab to talk to the Time Traveller, but he and his machine are gone." (Snyder, L. 2005)

Pages of the original copy of "The Time Machine" book (Anders, C. 2010)

Covers of re-prints of the book (Amazon, 2011)

It’s really quite interesting to think that this one book created a whole sub-genre of Science fiction and has even influenced scientists to try and work out if it’s actually possible. The book has been around for over 100 years and is still very popular today. The reviews and the re-prints of the book prove that there is a demand for the book. I think it might be due to the genre. Time Travel is a fascinating idea, hence why I chose it as a word. It’s an idea that relates to everyone because it brings up the interesting question of “What would you do if you could Time Travel?” which is the question H.G.Wells highlights in the book. It’s a wide open genre and can be appreciated by a wide market, from male to female, old to young.

-:Film adaptations:-

-:"The Time Machine, 1960":-

This book was eventually created into a film in the 1960's. George Pal directed the film and David Duncan wrote the screenplay. The story is about a Victorian gentlemen who created a Time Machine and goes into the future. He travels into the future and watches as the first and second World Wars pass him. He ends up in the year 802,701 were the humans, who are now called Eloi, in a civilisation without books, a government or any laws. He asked to read some books so he can learn about this new time but the books are all moldy and crumbled to dust. His time machine is then captured by the Morlocks and hidden in the bios sphere. He finds out that the Morlocks are eating the humans and ruling over them! To get his time machine back he has to defeat the Morlocks and free the humans! The movie ends with him going back in the past and telling his story, but he goes back to the future to go see his love interest.

The cover of the film adaption "The Time Machine" (Pal, G. 1960)

Screenshot of the rating and popularity of the film “The Time Machine" (IMDB, 01/12/2011)

Screenshot of the rating and popularity of the film "The Time Machine" (Amazon, 01/12/2011)

The Time Machine from the film "The Time Machine" (Horgan, A. 2009)

"George Pal made many science fiction movies during his career, but this, I think, is one of his best. Filmed in sumptuous Metrocolor, the movie tells the story of George Wells, an inventor who creates a wonderful time machine. Disillusioned with the violence of his time, he sets off into the future, only to discover that mankind's struggle for knowledge and progress is doomed to end after a devastating third world war. Finally, in the year 802701 he saves a beautiful girl, Weena, from drowning and is introduced to the Eloi, a race of peaceful, almost childlike, innocents. But then his time machine is stolen by the Morlocks, and he discovers that the Eloi's idyllic existance isn't all that it seems to be....." (Jackman, S. 2006)

"The effects of the time machine itself and the transition scenes are quite good for the time - I recall as a child watching this film on television and being mesmerised by the passage of time, the scenery changes through George's window as the time streamed by, and the contrast between the Victorian household set and the future world" (Messick, K. 2006)

"The 1960's version of george Pal's, 'The Time Machine' remains a classic. The script follows the original H.G Wells novel, but departs from it in one major respect." (Stoller, B. 2002)
From the sounds of the reveiws and the look of the ratings it seems that this film is greatly loved, just like the original book. Of course there is are changes between the book and the film but they both still seem to be very popular and well recieved by the public. 

The Time Machine - Limited Edition Collector's Set (Amazon. 2000)

The ratings of the "The Time Machine-Limited Edition Collectors Set" on Amazon 12/12/2011 (Amazon, 2011)

They also released this special edition of the films in 2000, with extras such as film cells and prints from the original film. As you can see from the screen shot of the reviews it rated very, very highly. It got over 180 5 star reviews which is amazing.

With the popularity of the first film, as well as the book, it was no surprise that they released a LImited edition of the film with lots of extras. People at the time of it's release loved the film and they still do even today. Like one of the reviews said, it's a cult classic. The Time Travel in this film is a major part of the story and the main character does a lot of Time Travelling during the movie. It's the major point of the film and it's very interesting to see that he travels through time until almost the time of the end of the world. People seem to love this film because it's a classic sci-fi film and it shows that the genre, as well as the subject, was popular and well received back then.

-:"The Time Machine, 2002":-

Poster of the re-make of "The Time Machine" (Wells, S. 2002)

Screenshot of the rating and popularity of the film "The Time Machine" 2002 (IMDB, 01/12/2011)

Screenshot of the rating and popularity of the film"The Time Machine" 2002 (Amazon. 01/12/2011)

"It may be unfair, but a remake of a hit movie must always be compared to the original. The 1960 original of THE TIME MACHINE was a deserved hit. The 2002 version may be a treat for the eyes, but unfortunately, not for the brain. Part of the problem is that Simon Wells, the great-grandson of H. G. Wells, directed the movie as if he were more entranced with dazzling special effects (and dazzling they are) than with bringing out a believable, fully fleshed series of characters. In 1960, director George Pal wisely kept the focus squarely on the hero's adventures and why he helped the human Eloi." (Asiner, M. 2002)

""The Time Machine" is loosely based on H.G. Wells' sci-fi masterpiece, written in 1897. The book was also made into a movie forty years ago [available on DVD at Amazon.com]. Back then, the major studios had decided to cash in on the craze created by independent, low-budget sci-fi and horror films. MGM, for example, produced "The Time Machine" as well as "Forbidden Planet". These pictures - sleeker and glossier than anything the independents could make - used what were, at the time, state-of-the-art special effects. Today's version of the Wells classic utilizes the same tools. While the results are at times spectacular, it lacks a key ingredient - a dash of intelligence - that made the earlier version more memorable." (Horner, M. 2002)

"Once again, Hollywood underestimates the intelligence of its audience by torturing a socially-conscious novel into an over-hyped, under-cooked, popcorn movie. Do the guys at Dreamworks seriously believe we are so unintelligent that we cannot cope with a decent adaptation?" (Reynolds, S. 2002)

This is a re-make of "The Time Machine" which was first released in 1960. This was actually directed by Simon Wells who is the grandson of the writer, H.G.Wells. This is more of a re-adaptation of the film, with new actors, a new time machine and a brand new look (along with the story being changed). Unfortuently people didn't receive the new film well at all and it's very badly rated overall. Many are comparing it to the older film which was a lot more successful than this. 

I think that people didn't like this film because they were comparing it to the original, which can't be helped when your doing a re-make. People seemed to have liked the idea of a re-make as it is rather old plus with all the new technology that was around in 2002 they were able to create more special effects. Overall they didn't like the story and defiently loved the older time traveller and his story. They did like all the effects though and visually it seems to have been better. With the title "The Time Machine" you obviously have Time Travel as a main feature which this re-make as kept. The Time Machine has had a new make-over than the old sleigh like design. I think that people still like the Time Travel element but there has to be a good and compelling story to back it all up. Everyone would love to Time Travel and the old film seemed to give the audience the question of "If you could Time Travel were would you go?"

-:Back to the Future:-
-:Back to the Future I:-

The first movie "Back to the Future" (Zemeckis, R. 1985)

"Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine" invented by slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love - so he can get back to the future." (Lynch, R. No date)

The ratings of the film "Back to the Future" on IMDB (IMDB, 2011)


"

Budget:

 $19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

 $350,600,000 (Worldwide) (1986)" (IMDB, 2011)


The film was a roaring success! It also won 13 separate awards and was nominated for another 23. This included an Oscar, Saturn Award, Golden Screen and an People's Choice Award. The film did very well and was an instant hit, I don't think there's anyone out there who hasn't at least heard of the film.


-:Back to the Future II:-

The second movie "Back to the Future II" (Zemeckis, R. 1989)

"The second part of the trilogy begins as Doc, Marty and Jennifer take the time-traveling DeLorean into the year 2015 to straighten out the future of the McFly family. But Biff Tannen steals the time machine and gives his younger self a book containing 50 years of sports statistics, which the young Biff uses to amass an enormous gambling fortune and transform idyllic Hill Valley into a living hell. To restore the present, Doc and Marty must return to the events of their previous adventure in 1955 and retrieve the book." (Thiel, D. No date)

The ratings of the film "Back to the Future II" on IMDB (IMDB, 2011)

"Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

 $332,000,000 (Worldwide) (1990)" (IMDB, 2011)

Compared to the first film unfortuently this film didn't do as good. Many people see this one as the black sheep of the trilogy. This one also cost more to make and didn't make as much as the first one. This film won 8 different awards and was nominated for 5 more. Compared to the first overall this one didn't do as well.

-:Back to the Future III:-

The third movie "Back to the Future III" (Zemeckis, R. 1990)

"With the Almanac destroyed by Marty McFly and the time line back on its original course, things are not all well. Dr. Emmett L. Brown and the time machine were somehow struck by lightning, and Marty was somehow received a letter from Doc that he is okay, and in the year 1885. Marty and the 1955 Doc fixed up the time machine after digging it up from a mine, then Marty discovers a grave stone with Doc's name on it, indicating that he will be killed by a man named Beuford Tannen (Biff's ancestor). Marty makes an effort to travel to 1885 to save Doc from his bleak future. But Marty does something to the time machine to not make it run, now Marty and Doc have to figure out to get back to 1985. Unfortunately, this will not be easy with Doc madly in love with a school teacher Clara Clayton, and with Beuford Tannen causing constant trouble for Marty and Doc." (Wiggins, J. No date)

The ratings of the film "Back to the Future III" on IMDB (IMDB, 2011)

"Budget:

 $40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

 $243,700,000 (Worldwide) (1991)" (IMDB, 2011)

Unfortuently the movies seem to be doing worse with every new one that is released. Again this one got a worser rating than the one before it and it also made less money in the Box Office. Although saying that it still gaine a rating of 7.2 and also made over $200 million so it was still a good film that did well. Just not as well as the first one.

I got some quotes of the franchise as a whole as I felt that it would be to complicated to go into detail with each of the films. It'll be more constructive and more productive to look at the franchise on a whole and see what merchandise came out of all the films, as well as see how popular they all were.

"If I could give this superb collection 10 stars I would, but 5 stars will have to do! The very essence of this film from the special effects the plots and storyline and of course the excellent cast make this Trilogy hugely entertaining." (Ambrose, B. 2006)

"If you've seen the films and enjoyed them there's really no reason not to buy this brilliantly put together set. Anyone who's not already seen these films is missing out on one of the greatest trilogy's of all time and I'm sure it'll continue to be well in..."to the future"" (Armes, P. 2009)

"I remember the day that I went to see Back to the Future at the cinema back in the 80s. I was trembling with excitement, it was the biggest film of the year, and involved thousands of kids (and adults come to that) dreams. Time Travel. The film delivered a science fiction geeky subject in a very non geeky way. A bit like Star Wars really, a science fiction film that appealed to non-science fiction geeks." (Curtis, D. 2006)

"This is the best movie in the history of the world , no movie will be able to beat this time travelling magical masterpeice , im gunna buy it right now , i forgot all about the trilogy with the bonus disk , so now im going to get it :" (Scott, D. 2009)

In all honestly I couldn't find a single bad quote about these films. I think these quotes sum up in the best way what the best features of the films are. I personally love the quote from Scott, D. I think it really shows why this franchise was popular, that it was a sci-fi film that appealed to everyone. It wasn't too geeky or too confusing. It took you on a journey and explained everything about Time Travel on the way. You learnt with the main character, Marty McFly, about all the events an science behind it all. It targeted a much wider audience even though it was technically a sci-fi film. It changed this genre and made it "cool".

-:Back to the Future Merchandise magazine:-

 Back to the Future Fan Club product catalog page 1 (1990) (Holley, P. 2010)

Back to the Future Fan Club product catalog page 2 (1990) (Holley, P. 2010)

I found these scans of a merchandise magazine from 1990. This was probably released then before, during or most likely after the third and final "Back to the Future III" (1990) film was released. This is an excellent example of a franchise being popular and merchandise coming from it. There is such a variety of things people could buy; such as t-shirt transfers, hats, jackets, watches, key-rings and even a remote control car.

This is a fantastic example of public demand for something. People saw that the film was popular and knew that they could sell anything relating to "Back to the Future" (1985). These scans of the magazine alone prove that Time travel, in these films at least, was very popular at the time. The concept of Time Travel plays a major part in all three films

-:Back to the Future Royal Charity Premiere:-

Royal Charity Premiere which was attended by Prince Charles and Princes Diana in 1985 (Katrina. 2011)

"This book was printed as a gift to everyone who attended the Royal Charity Premiere of Back to the Future on December 3, 1985. The book features cast and crew biographies, ads and congratulations from various vendors, filmmakers and studios to the cast and crew of Back to the Future. This is a very rare, not sold to the public book that would be the perfect addition to any Back to the Future collection." (Unknown. No date)

There was a Royal premiere of this film which was attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. This booklet was a sort of programe that was handed out to people who attended. It supplied information about the films background such as the cast and crew, biographies and much more. 

To show that their was a personal showing which had Royal family members attending must mean that the film was clearly good enough and popular enough to have this very special showing. 

-:Back to the Future Video Games:-

1989 Back to the Future NES game cartridge (Holley, P. 2010)

Screenshot of the video game "Back to the Future" on NES (lynx561. No date)

"Many people seem to think this game is difficult, but really it is not all that hard. After you play the mini-games a couple of times you start to realize they're not all that hard. If you get the skateboard in the street levels, you can become unstoppable. The bees are probably the most frustrating in this game. They'll start to come from all sides, and they constantly swarm around you. For some reason I found this game strangely addicting. Maybe it was the crappy music blended with the bland gameplay, who knows, but I just couldn't put the game down. It made me want to play over and over. I think it comes off as one of those "so bad its really good" type of things. Even after I beat, I found it addicting, finally I told myself over and over how bad the game was, and all my BttF worries went away." (lynx561. No date)

This game was made for the NES and was released in September, 1989. It was published by LJN Ltd. I couldn't really find out much more about this game apart from a few reviews saying how frustrating the game was. 

An electronic game of "Back to the Future III" (Katrina. 2011)

-:Back to the Future TV cartoon:-

Back to the Future TV Series 1991-1993 (IMDB, 2011)

The ratings for the "Back to the Future TV Series" 1991-1993 (IMDB, 2011)

This TV series was released after the last movie was released and carries on the stories and adventures of Doc, Marty and their friends. The show ran for 2 years before it was cancelled. The cast actually didn't contain any of the original cast from the films, well apart from Christopher Lloyd who played the Doc in the films. he did introductions for the episodes. 

With the release of both the video games and this cartoon series it suggests that there were to aim for the younger audience that liked Back to the Future. Plus these both would act as promotion for the film as kids might end up watching/playing one of these and wanting to find out more about what "Back to the Future" is. 

-:Back to the Future Toys:-

Vintage Texaco "Back to the Future II" Hoverport toy from the 1980's (lady-loves-vintage, 2011)

"Back to the Future" 1985 Vintage skateboard (atomicspacejunk88, 2011)

Vintage Texaco "Back to the Future II" Cars toy from the 1980's (Katrina, 2011)


An example of some of the toys that they released which related to the Back to the Future series. We have both small figures and toys that are aimed for kids and a skateboard thats aimed at older kids. The skateboard was probably made because the main character in the films rides a skateboard. All these toys came out at around the same time gap of 3-5 years. These are older than the video game and cartoon series that came out.


The films themselves are for a wider audience, from kids to adults. I guess they aimed more for a kids audience though as it's more marketable. I don't think many adults would buy merchandise from the movies like this as it would seem childish. I think they were very clever with the merchandise ideas. They knew that both children and their parents would have seen and enjoyed the films. With this in mind parents would be more than likely to buy  toys from the films they knew were good for their kids. I think all this proves that TIme Travel is indeed marketable to a wider audience than sci-fi fans, or "geeks". It proves that with the right idea behind the Time Travel it can become very popular and a classic iea loved by all. 


-:Back to the Future: The Ride:-

Back to the Future: The Ride (Tiberius, 2011)


"The Institute of Future Technology had thrown open it's doors for visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood to explore. It soon became clear, however, that not all is well... Biff Tannen was on the loose inside the building and he had theft of the Delorean on his mind. Would the Doc's new 8 passenger time vehicle get up to speed and rise to the occasion? A spectacular totally-themed incredibly immersive simulator ride with a specially made 4 minute ride film that literally took you back to the future, this ride cost a huge $60 million in 1993. Because the film featured the year 2015 as the distant future the lifespan of the attraction was always limited. The Florida version of the attraction closed on March 30 2007, and the Hollywood version closed on September 3 2007." (Unknown. No date)


This ride first opened in June 4th 1993 and was located at Universal Studios, Hollywood. The ride came out 3 years after the film so there was still the popularity of the film going around. It also was made for Florida and Japan, the one in Japan is actually still running today. Unfortuently the ride closed in 2007, mainly due to the fact that the films only go as far as 2015 and thats when the ride is set so it wouldn't really make much sense. 


"For the most part, "The Ride" was a considerable success in getting tourists to take Universal seriously, and quickly solidified itself as a top attraction in Florida. It was a cool blast of ride technology innovation, taking the subculture of motion simulators to the next level. No longer would a large metal box on a wonky gimbal do; "The Ride" delivered wide-eyed astonishment as the Omnimax screen encircled the passenger in a soaring and smashing experience that was unheard of at the time. It also allowed film fans the giddy opportunity to relive the film franchise in a significantly more interactive role." (Orndorf, B. 2006)


This ride was not only used for profit but was a chance for Back to the Future fans to actual travel though time. It was a fantastic opportunity to cash in on this movie franchise, I don't think anyone would want to pass up the opportunity to be able to travel in the Delorean. From the look in the picture they have kept true to the look and feel of the movies. I would have never have thought of taking the concept of Time Travel and making it into a theme park ride either. I think it might have been the first theme park ride to ever offer this experience  Someone saw the potential of the Time travel in the Back to the Future films and thought it'd be great if others could experiences the same thing.


-:The Crystal Maze: The Time Travel Adventure Game:-

Crystal Maze, The Time Travel Adventure Game (space.dust. 2011)

This board game was first sold in 1991 and was created by MB games. It’s based off a UK TV show called “The Crystal Maze” which was shown between 1990-1995. It was a puzzle show which had 4 different zones. Players would have to solve puzzles in a time limit and get the crystal. The crystals would give the player extra time for the final puzzle were they’d have to collect gold tickets to win a prize. “The Crystal Maze was the number one programme on Channel 4, raking in something between 4 million and 6 million viewers. It was a highly-ambitious, high-risk show that paid off handsomely.” (Unknown, no date)

The show was very popular and is still well remembered today. As I was researching this in class I got talking to class mates about the old show. I’m guessing the popularity of the show meant that this board game was created. It also means that there was a market for this show and they filled it with this board game. I think they created a board game because the show was a game show, it wouldn’t really work with another type of merchandise.


-:The Tomorrow People:-

The Tomorrow People DVD cover for the TV series 1973–1979 (Price, R. 1979)

“The Tomorrow People are British teens who have special powers. They can communicate to each other using telepathy. They can also transport themselves (they call it "Jaunting"). With the help of Tim their talking computer they battle the bad people of earth and space.” (Petro, J. no date)

-:Illusion of Time:-

Illusion of Time video game SNES (Clarthy, 2009)

"Illusion of Time is an action RPG in a similar vein to the likes of Secret of Mana and Terranigma. Unlike most SNES RPGs the free roaming element of the game is virtually non-existent, instead the developers have opted for taking the character from one town to another without ever returning. Although for some this may seem to linear for an RPG it actually means that the developers have more time to craft the distinctive storyline. Virtually every location in the game is stunning, memorable and well designed. Whether on a massive legendary golden boat, to a town that floats entirely on water, each location has it's own distinctive "flavour." The storyline is well written and involving, allowing the player to suspend their disbelief and become emotionally attached to the characters and immerse themselves in the story. It's not the longest of games and is over in around 20 hours but what it lacks in quantity it picks up in quality. It's an old game now but for anyone who is a fan of 16bit RPG gaming this should be part of their collection." (Hanks, G. 2006)


This game is probably best known as Illusion of Gaia, which was the American title. It was an RPG that was released around 1994 for the Super NES. In the game you played as a character who has telekinesis. In the game you were able to locate a stature which let you turn into an older, knight self or a mystical being. This was the time travelling element to it, that you could travel through time to become different beings of yourself. Only the character would do this though, they would still be in the same time era but have aged which doesn't make much sense.


In retrospect the game doesn't really have a big Time travelling element to it but does have Time in the title. The title sounds like a great title for a Time Travel story though. 

-:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:-

The Prince of Persia: The sands of time cover PS2 (Packwood, L. 2010)

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place in a mystical Middle Eastern setting, all bathed in soft, warm light and looking like something straight out of a storybook. You play as a young prince who possesses exceptional athletic and acrobatic skill. Early on in the game, the prince steals the dagger of time, a treasure from a rival nation, as a token for his father the king. When a traitorous vizier compels the prince to use the dagger to unlock another treasure, a huge hourglass, everything goes wrong." (Kasavin, G. 2003)

The rating the reviewer gave to "Prince of Persia: The sands of Time" (Kasavin, G. 2003)


"In most cases, should the prince fall to his death or be slain by a sand creature or a trap, with his last breath, he may use the dagger to "rewind" the course of time to a point prior to the unfortunate incident that would have ended his life. Each time you use this ability, it costs a "sand tank," which you earn a greater quantity of as you get farther into the game, and which you restore by defeating sand creatures." (Kasavin, G. 2003)


This game uses the idea of Time Travel and uses it as a mechanic of the game. If you miss a jump or fall you can rewinding time just a little bit to before you jumped off something. The game is set in a Persian landscape with tall buildings and desert all around. The game was a great success and was well liked.


I think the game did so well due to the actual time travel mechanics. Normally games aren't very forgiving if you make a mistake. If you fall off something by accident your dead and thats it. In this game you have a chance to go back in time and fix your mistake which was a first in games. Of course the game had an excellent story as well as fantastic controls and a character who was able to run up walls and scale buildings but the idea of travelling back a little bit in time to re-do a jump or not fall off a cliff is a brilliant idea. It's new, original and very helpful for gamers. 

-:Dr Who:-

Dr Who is a TV series that was first aired on TV on November 23rd 1963. The first episode was about them travelling 100,000 years into the past to help Cavemen discover fire. William Hartnell was the actor who played the first Doctor. There have been 11 Doctors overall over the past 50 years. The Doctor is a Time Lord who, in other words, is an alien. He used his time machine, the Tardis, to travel through space and time. Through-out the series it has created some very iconic characters that many people remember, such as the Daleks and the Cyberman. The actors who played the Doctors are Patrick Troughton (1966-1969), Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), Tom Baker: (1974 - 1981), Peter Davison (1982-1984), Colin Baker (1984-1986), Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989), Paul McGann (1996),  Christopher Eccleston (2005), David Tennent (2006-2010), Matt Smith (2010-present).

A collage of all the Doctors (Avecilla, B. 2011)

The first Doctor (Cafferkey, S. 2011)

The series was a huge success on the BBC and ran from 1963-1989 before it was cancelled. In that time 9 different actors played the Doctor. In the show the Doctor is a Time Lord, an alien, and when he dies or almost dies he will "regenerate". When he does this he completely changes his look and personality, hence why there are so many different looking Doctors.

The tardis from the show "Doctor Who" (Unknown, 2011)

"The TARDIS is the time machine used by the title character of the BBC television programme Doctor Who, the name TARDIS being an acronym for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. As well as being able to travel to any point in time and space, the TARDIS has a chameleon circuit, which enables it to alter its external shape so as to blend in inconspicuously with its surroundings. When the Doctor visited Earth in late 1963 his TARDIS materalised in the shape of a police box. The chameleon circuit then promptly failed, leaving the TARDIS stuck as a police box." (Unknown, no date)

The Tardis is a police box on the outside, but on the inside it's a space ship! This is the device which helps The Doctor travel through space and time. It's evolved in look over time but this blue box has become a symbol of the Doctor and is well known to people who are Doctor Who fans and people who aren't.

Inside the first Tardis (Brant, M. 2011)

The enemies from the show have become icons in themselves too. When the show first aired kids would hide behind their coaches in fear of the enemies that used to attack Doctor Who. Even though it was a kids show the show was well known for scaring kids. 

One of the enemies called the Cybermen (Brant, M. 2011)

Another enemy called the Daleks (Brant, M. 2011)


After researching Doctor Who in my present research it was interesting to find out that it was such a long running TV series. I didn't know either how much it had developed in look until I found these old images of the show. I think the fact that this show has been around for so long and it's been running for almost 50 years so far proves that this was a great idea. Using Time Travel as a device for the character, the Doctor, to explore weird planets or different time era's meant each episode of Doctor Who could literally take the watcher anywhere. It means the idea's for the show is limitless which is a quality I'm noticing with Time Travel. With Time Travel you can literally take a story from one place to the other, the ideas are limitless. You just need a good idea such as Doctor Who.

-:Star Trek:-

The starship "The Enterprise" from the show "Star Trek" (Locutus. No date)

"Star Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry which aired from September 8, 1966 through June 3, 1969. 80 episodes were produced, 79 of which were aired. Although cancelled after a relatively short run, the program was placed in syndication, where it spawned a strong fan following and, later, achieved iconic status as an American - and eventually worldwide - television phenomenon.

Set in the 23rd century, Star Trekfollows the adventures of the starshipEnterprise and her crew, led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his First Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Bill Shatner's legendary introduction to the show stated the starship's purpose and encapsulates the enduring draw for the fans then and now:

Space...the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." (Locutus. No date)

The main characters from the original show "Star Trek" (Kissinger, M. 2009)


"When Star Trek debuted on NBC in 1966, it was not successful; ratings were low and advertising revenue was lackluster. During the show's second season, the threat of cancellation loomed. The show's devoted fanbase conducted an unprecedented letter-writing campaign, petitioning NBC to keep the show on the air. The fans succeeded in gaining a third season, however NBC moved the show to a certain Friday Night Death Slot, and ratings remained poor. The series was cancelled at the end of its third season. The show became successful in reruns, and thus the Star Trek saga was born." (Locutus. No date)


The show has been running for several years, with a total of 79 episodes and 9 films. These included Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). It originally ran from 1966-1969 and had 3 seasons. 


It's quite interesting to hear about how unpopular the show was when it first began, it's quite a well known show in the present day. The original show doesn't use time travel that much compared to the movie I found in my present post but it was interesting to see if Time Travel was involved in it. It is set in the future which could be classed as Time Travel in a way as it's showing you a different era of time.

-:The Persistence of Memory:-

(Dali, 1931)

The painting is very famous and well known; many people have taken this famous imagery and interrupted it in their own way. The idea of the piece is the decay of time. "The ants may represent destruction or decay, the rocks can be viewed as eternity or reality, and the melting clocks perhaps show that regimented time is an artificial concept that cannot withstand the true power of the universe beyond." (Nola, M. 2008) The piece was created by Salvador Dali in 1931. It's an oil painting and only measures 10x13 itches. The colours are rich and show a mixture of a dream and reality, the reality being the mountains in the background "The background itself shows the rocky landscape of Port Lligat in Dalí’s native Catalonia, Spain." (Nola, M. 2008). His art dealer, Julien Levy, originally said the piece was never sell... it did. Dali actually made it to the cover of Time magazine in 1936, only 5 years after the piece was sold.

The TIME magazine cover with Dali on it (Time Magazine, 1936)

When I did art a few years back we studied art history and I always found this piece to be very interesting. It's a very iconic piece and is also very popular, being placed in many museums since it was first painted in 1931. The piece really catches your eye due to the surrealism and dream like state of the clocks and unusual landscape. The piece has been used a lot in present day in merchandising and parody pieces which I will have to cover in the "Present" section of my Time Travel research.

-:Time Magazine:-

The magazine isn't about Time Travel (unfortunately) but it's a very popular magazine to say the least. The magazine first began in 1923 and was created by two men, Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden. Funnily enough the two were originally rivals and reported the news for two separate newspapers. They worked together later on at the “Baltimore News”. They soon left after only 3 months to go to New York and achieve their dream of making their own publication. Originally the title they wanted was “Fact” but that soon changed.

"The Digest selected its subjects arbitrarily and treated them at length, quoting liberally from newspapers and other sources. Time, by contrast, would cover all the news, briefly and in its own organized way." (Tebbel, J. 1991).

The first TIME magazine published in 1932 (Karm, B. 2011)

The magazine was very popular and by the end of 1924 the magazine had a circulation of 70,000. Probably one of the features that is well known for and makes it popular is the “Man of the Year” (now known as Person of the Year.) Rather than it being a person who has done something good it’s a person who has done something well known that year which means it’s had some very notable people features, including Adolf Hitler in 1938. It also causes lots of controversy, with 2001 being a choice between Osama Bin Laden and Rudolph Giuliani. “At any rate, Person of the Year is surely Time's most anticipated issue each year.” (Unknown, no date)

Various covers from 1927-2004 (Time magazine, 2011)

The covers are very collectable too, with lots of results showing up on eBay to buy old covers of the magazine. Also it's seen as a great achievement if you can be on the cover on Time Magazine. While searching for famous covers I came across an advert which lets you buy covers of the magazine.

Advert for the TIME cover store (Unknown, 2011)

The link leads to this website were you can buy larger prints of covers and get them framed too. It'll set you back around $20 (depending on framing and cover) but it shows that there is a market and popularity for the covers, both past and present, if you can get them as pieces of art for your home.

I was surprised to hear that the magazine had done so well in its first year alone and seems to have been snowballing in popularity ever since. The cover of TIME magazine is very well known all over the world and is even parodied in films. The very iconic red border and type instantly make you know it's TIME magazine.

-:Real Time Travel?:-

"In August 1901, two Oxford professors, Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, were walking through the gardens of the Palace of Versailles when they noticed a shimmering effect on the landscape. When the shimmering had passed, the women noticed that they seemed to have been transported back in time to about a hundred years earlier. The people around them wore 18th century clothes and wigs, and were behaving in a very agitated manner. Eventually the vision faded, and the two women found themselves back in 1901.  Shocked at what they had experienced, they carried out some research and concluded that they had somehow witnessed the sacking of the Tuleries and the massacre of the French Guards during the French revolution in 1789." (Quantum Publisher, 2009)

I know that the article it is taken from is classed as "Present" research but when the actual event happened it was back in 1901. Apparently they travelled back in time, for a short moment, it a battle back in 1789. There is another example from the article based on the Navy trying to conduct an experiment to do with Time Travel.

"Two experiments were conducted exactly forty years apart in August 1943 and August 1983.  During the 1943 experiment the US Eldridge was said to have disappeared completely for twenty minutes. This left a great number of people convinced that the Navy succeeded. Forty years later the experiment was attempted again, perhaps to correct what had gone wrong with the Philadelphia experiment." (Quantum Publisher, 2009)

I didn't realise when I first started the research I would find actual events involving Time Travel. I thought it really only lied within Science Fiction. I could truly like to believe this is real but part of me is still a little unsure. I might try and find more examples and see if this is not just a one time thing.

After some research into this I have found that these events are called Time Slips.

"A time slip is an alleged paranormal phenomenon in which a person, or group of people, travel through time into the supernatural (rather than technological) means. As with all paranormal phenomena, the objective reality of such experiences is disputed." (Unknown, no date)


There seems to be quite a few examples on the internet and it seems to be a real thing. 


"In the 1950's, Mrs P worked in Cripps in Bold Street (now Waterstones) as a window dresser. At the time, there was an equipment room in the basement of the store. The store employed a commissionaire, an older military gentleman, 6 feet tall and thin. He always proudly wore his wartime medals, and sported a walrus moustache. He had been at the relief of Khartoum, so was advanced in age at this time. Mrs P "hit it off" with the commissionaire and they became good friends. One morning, Mrs P went into work to find her friend was not there. It transpired that he had been taken ill at home, and had been taken into hospital. Mrs P carried on work as normal, and went for lunch as she normally did. After lunch, she went down to the basement. She heard a cough from the top of the stairs and recognised it instantly as her friend's cough - he had a very distinctive cough, much as you would imagine an upright, military gentleman's cough to be. She was very pleased at the thought that her friend had obviously recovered and returned to work, so she ran up the stairs to where her friend used to hang his coat. She was very surprised to find nobody there. Later on, she discovered that she had heard the cough at the exact moment that her friend had died in hospital." (Para-Science, 2011)

I personally don't believe that this is a good example of Time Slips. Compared to the one about Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain this one seems more like she miss heard something. I believe the Navy one and the Anne Moberly/Eleanor Jourdain stories to be much more interesting and find them much more fascinating and believable. Maybe because these events saw something happen, they saw a change. It wasn't just one person on their own who heard something.

"I like this theory it is interesting and could maybe explain other things like the Bermuda triangle maybe the ships and airplanes have time jumped to some other dimension." (Unknown, no date)

I wish this quote had someone to credit because this theory of Time Slips could be the reason behind some of these strange happenings. It could really be that Time has shifted for but a moment and given the viewer a very realistic window into the past for but a moment. It seems though that the cases are always in the past, rather than seeing into the futre. It's really interesting to think that these events once happened in the past.

-:The Terminator:-

The Terminator poster from 1984 (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2010)

Rating of the film "Terminator" from IMDB taken 10/12/2011 (IMDB, 2011)

"`The Terminator' is not a perfect picture. The movie lags in some parts, and the romance element is fairly contrived. Despite all that the movie brims with energy and promise, a script that mostly delivers, characters you can enjoy, and the ultimate Arnie role. Well worth catching. 8/10." (McGuinness, A. 2002)


"Altogether this ensures that The Terminator is a landmark science-fiction film, a benchmark for others to aim for and one of Schwarzenegger's finest performances." (Cannon, D. 1997)


After looking at all the past examples of Time Travel it's been interesting to see how the how concept of Time Travel originated and how it developed. Many of the examples I found here also continue into the present research. It's been very helpful in knowing what the original concept of Time Travel was and how it's developed. Originally it seemed to be more of a science fiction idea with space and other sci-fi settings involved. As it's developed it's seems to have taken a whole new look. Many of the newer examples happen very closer to home on Earth now. Also in my past research it seems to have been more of a nerdy thing to like Time Travel.