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Traveler (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Traveler is a short-lived American
television series that ran from May 10, 2007 until July 18, 2007 on ABC
in the United States
. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television
.
Traveler was officially canceled after eight first-run episodes on July 18, 2007. Fans then tried to save the show but were unsuccessful. David DiGilio, the creator, posted an "answers blog" on September 28, 2007, which officially ended the show.
is bombed while they are pulling a juvenile prank. It appears that their friend and roommate, Will Traveler, has framed them for the bombing. Afterward, Traveler disappears and there is no evidence that he ever existed. Jay and Tyler flee from the authorities, who believe them to be domestic terrorists. While on the run and trying to clear their own names, they attempt to delve into Will Traveler's past in hopes of discovering Will's motives for turning on his friends.
Meanwhile, Traveler goes on a similar search for answers. It is revealed that he is in fact a secret agent working for a division of the Department of Homeland Security
called the Fourth Branch, and slowly a complex conspiracy is unraveled.
Jay and Tyler reunite with Will by the seventh episode, and together the three attempt to bring those responsible to justice. They manage to kidnap Jack Freed, director of the Fourth Branch, but before they can use him to clear Jay and Tyler's names, the limousine with Jack Freed in it explodes.
Traveler primarily focuses on the efforts of Jay Burchell (Matthew Bomer) and Tyler Fog (Logan Marshall-Green
), two college graduates who must prove their innocence after being framed for the bombing of a museum by their former roommate Will Traveler (Aaron Stanford
). The two must evade the FBI
, led by Special Agent in Charge Fred Chambers (Steven Culp
). Special Agents Jan Marlow (Viola Davis
) and Guillermo Borjes (Anthony Ruivivar
) actively hunt the two, although Marlow questions the duo's purported guilt.
Over the course of the show, Jay and Tyler uncover a conspiracy that involves Jack Freed (Neal McDonough
) of the Department of Homeland Security
and even Carlton Fog (William Sadler
), Tyler's father and a very successful businessman. Occasionally assisting Tyler and Jay is a mysterious man dubbed the Porter (Billy Mayo). Meanwhile, Kim Doherty (Pascale Hutton
), Jay's girlfriend, must cope with harassment from both the FBI and the public.
At the end of the third episode, "New Haven", Will Traveler is revealed to be alive. Appearing as his girlfriend Maya is Sonja Bennett
.
, the show has a rating of 53%, calculated from 17 reviews.
Robert Bianco of USA Today
was positive about the show, saying "the show seems faster, brighter and more entertaining than most of the serials that beat it to the punch this fall." Bianco was nonetheless worried about Travelers future both because of its subject matter and airing in the summer. Variety
reporter Brian Lowry noted similar concerns and praised the actors, writing that Traveler "channels the old Hitchcockian standby of normal-guy-thrust-into-fabulous-plot scenario, with the central duo exhibiting realistic levels of fear, desperation and resourcefulness."
In contrast, Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter
reacted negatively to the show's "implausible" premise and finding that its protagonists "aren't nearly compelling enough to care a lot about." David Bianculli of the Daily News (New York) similarly called the premise "ridiculous" and called the show "nothing to see", negatively comparing it to The Fugitive
.
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that ran from May 10, 2007 until July 18, 2007 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
.
Traveler was officially canceled after eight first-run episodes on July 18, 2007. Fans then tried to save the show but were unsuccessful. David DiGilio, the creator, posted an "answers blog" on September 28, 2007, which officially ended the show.
Synopsis
The series follows Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, two graduate students who become suspects when the fictitious Drexler Museum in New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
is bombed while they are pulling a juvenile prank. It appears that their friend and roommate, Will Traveler, has framed them for the bombing. Afterward, Traveler disappears and there is no evidence that he ever existed. Jay and Tyler flee from the authorities, who believe them to be domestic terrorists. While on the run and trying to clear their own names, they attempt to delve into Will Traveler's past in hopes of discovering Will's motives for turning on his friends.
Meanwhile, Traveler goes on a similar search for answers. It is revealed that he is in fact a secret agent working for a division of the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
called the Fourth Branch, and slowly a complex conspiracy is unraveled.
Jay and Tyler reunite with Will by the seventh episode, and together the three attempt to bring those responsible to justice. They manage to kidnap Jack Freed, director of the Fourth Branch, but before they can use him to clear Jay and Tyler's names, the limousine with Jack Freed in it explodes.
Cast and characters
Logan Marshall-Green
Logan Marshall-Green is an American actor best known for his roles in Dark Blue, The O.C., 24, and Traveler.-Early life:...
), two college graduates who must prove their innocence after being framed for the bombing of a museum by their former roommate Will Traveler (Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford is an American actor, best known for his role as Pyro in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand films, and Doug Bukowski in the 2006 The Hills Have Eyes remake....
). The two must evade the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, led by Special Agent in Charge Fred Chambers (Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
). Special Agents Jan Marlow (Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...
) and Guillermo Borjes (Anthony Ruivivar
Anthony Ruivivar
Anthony Michael Ruivivar is an American actor known for his portrayal of FDNY paramedic Carlos Nieto in the TV series Third Watch, and other law-enforcement roles in different TV series.-Background:...
) actively hunt the two, although Marlow questions the duo's purported guilt.
Over the course of the show, Jay and Tyler uncover a conspiracy that involves Jack Freed (Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough
Neal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
) of the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
and even Carlton Fog (William Sadler
William Sadler (actor)
William Thomas Sadler is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption,...
), Tyler's father and a very successful businessman. Occasionally assisting Tyler and Jay is a mysterious man dubbed the Porter (Billy Mayo). Meanwhile, Kim Doherty (Pascale Hutton
Pascale Hutton
Pascale Hutton is a Canadian actress. She was born in Creston, British Columbia. Hutton attended the conservatory acting program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.- Filmography :- Television :...
), Jay's girlfriend, must cope with harassment from both the FBI and the public.
At the end of the third episode, "New Haven", Will Traveler is revealed to be alive. Appearing as his girlfriend Maya is Sonja Bennett
Sonja Bennett
Sonja Bennett is a Canadian actress who portrayed Marcie Brasko in Battlestar Galactica.Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bennett has acted in various genre series including Eureka, Stargate Atlantis, Painkiller Jane, The Dead Zone, Cold Squad, as well as other Vancouver filmed television...
.
Episodes
ABC originally ordered the season with 13 episodes, but on October 28, 2006, the network scaled it back to eight episodes. The pilot episode aired at 10 P.M. on May 10, and repeated on May 30, 2007, immediately followed by the episode "The Retreat" in its regular time slot of Wednesday at 10 P.M. Eastern/9 P.M. Central. "The Retreat" was shown again on July 4, 2007, and then a new episode the following week, due to the Fourth of July holiday.| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Critical reception
Traveler was met with mixed reviews. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the show has a rating of 53%, calculated from 17 reviews.
Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
was positive about the show, saying "the show seems faster, brighter and more entertaining than most of the serials that beat it to the punch this fall." Bianco was nonetheless worried about Travelers future both because of its subject matter and airing in the summer. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reporter Brian Lowry noted similar concerns and praised the actors, writing that Traveler "channels the old Hitchcockian standby of normal-guy-thrust-into-fabulous-plot scenario, with the central duo exhibiting realistic levels of fear, desperation and resourcefulness."
In contrast, Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
reacted negatively to the show's "implausible" premise and finding that its protagonists "aren't nearly compelling enough to care a lot about." David Bianculli of the Daily News (New York) similarly called the premise "ridiculous" and called the show "nothing to see", negatively comparing it to The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
.
Episode ratings
| Episode # | Title | Air Date | Rating | Share | 18-49 | Viewers (millions) | Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | May 10, 2007 | 5.9 | 10 | 3.5/10 | 8.61 | 38/98 |
| 2 | "The Retreat" | May 30, 2007 | 4.2 | 7 | 2.1/6 | 6.28 | 29/90 |
| 3 | "New Haven" | June 6, 2007 | 3.7 | 6 | 1.7/5 | 5.30 | 41/93 |
| 4 | "The Out" | June 13, 2007 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.3/4 | 4.07 | 54/95 |
| 5 | "The Tells" | June 20, 2007 | 3.0 | 5 | 1.6/5 | 4.47 | 43/96 |
| 6 | "The Trader" | June 27, 2007 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.3/4 | 3.86 | 67/99 |
| 7 | "The Reunion" | July 11, 2007 | 2.5 | 5 | 1.2/3 | 3.55 | 73/102 |
| 8 | "The Exchange" | July 18, 2007 | 2.7 | 5 | 1.4/4 | 3.86 | 73/104 |
- Ratings for episode 6 are overnight figures; all others are final numbers.
- DVR numbers actually raised "The Reunion"'s ratings by 19.4% to around 4 million viewers.
Seasonal ratings
Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of Traveler on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
:
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Series Premiere | Series Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday 10:00 P.M. (May 10, 2007) Wednesday 10:00 P.M. (May 30 - July 18, 2007) |
May 10, 2007 | July 18, 2007 | 2006-2007 2006-07 United States network television schedule The following article details the developing fall prime time schedules for the United States six major English language broadcast networks. Following are lists of what programs have been either renewed or canceled by their networks, the new programs picked up by the networks, and a schedule grid... |
#222 | 4.96 |