TV Preview: Traveler

The pilot episode of Traveler (sneak preview tonight on ABC, 10 PM, EDT) hits the ground running — literally. Sirens blaring in the streets of New York, we see two young men running desperately, from what we don't know. They retreat to a hotel room, where the TV newscast is giving updates about a terrorist attack, listing them as the wanted suspects. They look at each other in disbelief. "We didn't do anything wrong!" The camera moves in for an extreme close-up of a book on the table — Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

Starting a story in the middle of the action is rarely a bad idea. It may be a cheap shot, but it immediately engages the audience with a sense of "what did I just walk in on?" It's called misdirection, and the creative team who helm this series are no strangers to the concept. Directed by David Nutter, best known for his work on The X-Files and Without a Trace, this pilot episode is paced more like a feature film than a TV episode. The script by David DiGilio (Eight Below) is taut as a kettle drum, tantalizing the viewer with well-placed, but murky clues in all the key moments, flashing back and forward in the action that would defy logic were it not for his deft scripting.

It all begins with a simple prank. Three grad-school buddies embark on what is supposed to be a cross-country last hurrah road trip before entering into their workaday futures. But when one of the trio, Will Traveler, convinces Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog to rollerblade through an iconic art museum in New York City, the first leg of the road trip takes a very twisted turn. An explosion rocks the museum, and Jay and Tyler suddenly find themselves prime suspects in an act of domestic terrorism. Worse, they gradually realize that their friend Will Traveler set them up to cover up his own involvement in the bombing.

Article Author: Ray Ellis

Ray Ellis is a freelance writer who has been dissecting pop culture and its effect on how we view ourselves for over twenty years, ruffling feathers and dragging unsuspecting pedestrians along for the ride whenever possible.

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