Voyagers! (1982)
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Debuting October 3, 1982. NBC, 7/6pm Central
With a protagonist name sounding suspiciously like a character from a Jules Verne novel, voyager Phineas Bogg teams up with perhaps the unlikeliest of partners – 11-year-old orphan Jeffrey Jones – to use his knowledge of world history as Bogg’s time travel device, the Omni, facilitates travel through both time and space, depositing them in one situation after another where some historical detail has not played out correctly.
“We travel through time to help history along…give it a push where it’s needed. When the Omni’s red, it means history’s wrong. Our jobs to get everything back on track.”
Created by James D. Parriott specifically for NBC’s early Sunday evening timeslot, Voyagers! offered an enjoyable romp through history with an eye to young viewers. Unfortunately, the series faced challenges in the form of the hand-wringing National Coalition on Television Violence that named it the most violent show on television; and CBS stalwart 60 Minutes which simply could not be budged in the ratings. Ultimately, NBC chose to cancel Voyagers! and try to challenge CBS at their own game with news program Monitor but failed miserably.
A documentary podcast is streaming from Forgotten TV that covers the full story of the creation, production, public and critical reactions, casting, locations, and the legacy of Voyagers! Stream here or available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Relive Voyagers! on DVD!
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