Important Message From The Future

 Okay, so this isn't actually an important message from the future, but it is time to take a look at the Time Travel genre! Yeah, this is another assignment. I'll try to make it as not-lame as possible. 

 The Time Travel genre is basically an extension or sub-genre of science fiction, but I felt it deserved to be placed on it's own. I LOVE time travel stories. Basically what happens is characters are thrown into a crazy situation and have to think of an even crazier way to get out of said situation. The reason I love them so much is because of their unpredictability. Now, you have understand that when I watch a movie or TV show, I don't really try to guess what happens next because... well, I really don't care. But this sort of mystery of "man, how is The Doctor going to get out of this one?" is a feeling that I love getting.

"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually—from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint—it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...stuff."

 The genre also has a common theme of fate. Quantum Leap is all about changing the past to alter the future, and make life better. The Back To The Future trilogy also touched on this subject, but also shows us that it is the past that makes us who we are. Doctor Who (up until recently) shows us not to meddle, even though we may want to. The Doctor shows us that life is what you make of it, and not to worry.

 The problem that I often had with science fiction in general is that it tends to be cheesy. But in all honesty, once you get used to science fiction and it’s general lack of budget, you get over it. I mean, Doctor Who has always had cheesy effects, but it’s not so much the effect, it’s that you understand “okay, there is a monster there. It has a big head”. And sometimes it’s just a matter of “it’s so bad it’s good”.

Plots sometimes have more holes than this cheese, here.

  So here I have 3 examples of works that exemplify characteristics of the Time Travel genre best. You're welcome.

 Doctor Who is a show that's been going on since the 1960s. It's the longest running science fiction program of all time, and is extremely popular in it's homeland of England (and is gaining popularity in North America, too) with radio programs, novels, and spinoff shows. It follows a Time Lord (known only as "The Doctor") from the planet Galifrey, the last member of a whole race of time travelling aliens, as he goes on adventures with his various human companions. Antics ensue. Whenever something goes wrong, you can always count on The Doctor to attack the problem with an child-like sense of excitement. 

 Quantum Leap is a show about Doctor Sam Beckett, who invents a time machine. Instead of just travelling through time, though, he switches consciousnesses with random people, and can only hope to escape by solving a problem in their life. Once he has, he moves on to another body, hoping to eventually find his way home. He is accompanied by his hologram friend, Al. Antics ensue. 

 And of course, Back To The Future. A classic trilogy that I actually hadn’t seen until just a month or so ago. Marty McFly goes back in time in a time travelling DeLorean invented by Doc Brown. He has to make sure that his parents get together while also preventing the death of Doc Brown. Antics ensue. He meets Doc Brown of the past, and they work together to get Marty back to the future (get it? That's the name of the movie) in time for 2 more sequels. 

 "The Time Machine" is the book that basically created the Time Travel genre as it is now. Written in 1895, the novel portrays a character known simply as "The Time Traveller" who creates a machine that takes him to the year 802,701 AD. Antics ensue. 

 If I had to guess why I love the time travel genre so much, it’s probably because the stories are all action packed adventures, and super fun. But because the characters risk messing with the time/space continuum, the stakes are a lot higher, tension is greater, and you’re that much more concerned for what’s going to happen next (either that, or you already know what’s going to happen next because it’s already happened). Regardless, if you haven’t seen any of the the shows or movies that I’ve talked about, I’d recommend giving at least one of them a try. At the very least, you can tell me that I’m an idiot for liking them. You’d be wrong, but you could say it.

TL;DR

Long story. But antics definitely ensued.