Everything Jamie Knows About Time Travel

Kacey & I have conversations like this all the time.  

How come some vampires can go outside and sparkle while others burst into flame?  

What are the best wizard duels of all time?  

How would the Doctor critique the other time travelers that we know and love?  

We are on a bit of a Doctor Who kick right now (more on that coming soon), so time travel is a hot topic.  Everything I know about time travel I have learned from the movies and TV. Okay, so there was that mini-section on special relativity in Physics in high school.  And it was arguably the most entertaining part of that class (better than my damn bridge).  But I just want to apologize now to people with a real understanding of what actual time travel would involve.  You know, people like Sheldon.   Here is what I know about time travel and where I learned it.

 

• Time machines come in all shapes and sizes.  This can be a DeLorean (Back to the Future), a Police Box that is actually a TARDIS (Doctor Who), a phone booth (Bill & Ted), or some kind of space ship like thing (most other films/shows).
• If you don't have a machine, then some sort of small device will probably work.  Like a timeturner that fits on a necklace (Harry Potter).
• Time is incredibly sensitive.  If you make one small little change, the whole world could be completely insane.  One guy from the past sneaks off with you to the future and and you come back [details have been redacted so as not to spoil Kacey on Eureka plot lines that she has not yet viewed].  Marty McFly (Back to the Future, but I seriously hope you knew that just from the name) almost erased himself from existence.  Try not to do this when travelling in time.  Just stick to the plan and lay low.
• Alternative timelines are complicated.  However, if you have already seen Back to the Future II prior to watching the J.J. Abrams Star Trek film, you will immediately grasp what is going on with this reboot.  Because you know that one little shift creates an alternative timeline where the future is different.  Your main timeline is still there, but you have to undo what caused the split in order to fix it.  Or you can just go on in the newly created future.  It's a choice really.  If it sucks a lot and you can pinpoint the moment of the change, and you have the means to change it, then you should go back and turn left.  You won't remember not existing.
• Do not be seen by yourself.  This would seriously freak you out.  You really shouldn't interact with a past or future version of yourself.  You could create a paradox.  Or just bad things would happen.  Of course, sometimes seeing how awesome your life is going to be can help you to go back and deal with a not so awesome childhood, like in Meet the Robinsons.
• Seeing an alternative version of yourself, however, is probably okay. At least according to Spock, and when is he ever wrong?   
• There are some things that cannot be changed - The Doctor is very clear on this, and when he tries to be bigger than these important moments, it backfires.  Some things simply must happen.  They are too important to the progression of time.
• History is really cool - Bill & Ted really captures this.  I mean, who doesn't want to pick up Socrates & Lincoln for a day to party, and then have them remind us all to be excellent to each other.  Not to mention, you just may get to hang out with Van Gogh or Churchill if you're traveling with the Doctor.  Of course, you may find out that romanticizing the past won't bring you any real happiness, and you should try to appreciate the present and dump your annoying fiance, like in Midnight in Paris.  Only realize this after having drinks with Hemingway.  Always have drinks with Hemingway first.
• Living the same day over and over again is not time travel.  It's torture. I'm pretty sure it's against the Geneva Conventions, but sometimes the powers that be feel you need some additional time to figure out your life (which is my interpretation of Groundhog's Day), or a device goes all wonky in Eureka and you are the only one who knows what is happening.  That, unlike if you are just some TV jerk, does not end well.
• Time is really just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey All of these other things are totally true, but per usual, the last remaining time lord says it best.

 

 

Books read: 29 (The Art of Fielding is amazing)

Coming Soon: After hearing that 50 Shades of Grey was originally Twilight fan fiction, Sarah writes a colorful review of the series, without bothering to read it.  She also looks up the names of the main characters and offers casting suggestions.