Voyagers

We travel through time
to help history along;
Give it a push when it's needed.
When the Omni's red,
it means history's wrong;
Our job is to get
everything back on track.
Green light, kid: We did it!

Voyagers! premiered on NBC on October 3, 1982. In the era of shows like The A-Team , Knight Rider, Alf, Punky Brewster and Family Ties, Voyagers! was very unique. It not only showed history as it might have been but also that it is possible for adults and children to be genuine friends. Each week, Phineas and Jeffrey found themselves faced with another challenge that usually required only quick wit and brains to solve. From riding with Billy the Kid to holding court with Queen Victoria, the Voyagers seldom ran into any situation where brawn won over brains.

Since Voyagers! left the airwaves in 1983, shows like Time Trax and Quantum Leap have fed our "need" for time travel. All of these shows stand on their own merit as excellent examples of what one person is capable of doing. However, at least to me, Voyagers! remains the most endearing.

Phineas Bogg is a member of a group people called Voyagers. They help history along. Give it a push where it's needed. He is a regular human that was living as a pirate a few hundred years ago, when he was chosen to be a voyager. He travels by way of a gold pocket watch like device called an omni. When the light is flashing red, it means history is wrong. His job is to fix it. In the pilot episode, Bogg ends up in 1982 when his omni malfunctions. (He is only supposed to be able to go as far as 1970.) He ends up in the apartment where 12 year old Jeffery Jones and his aunt and uncle live. (Jones parents were recently killed in an accident.) While there, Jeffery's dog grabs hold of Bogg's guide book (basically a history book.) Bogg being a pretty inept history person has no clue what to do without his book. One thing leads to another and Jeffery falls out of the building's window. The only way to save him is for Bogg to jump out after him and travel through time. Now Bogg is stuck in time with a 12 year old kid (Jeffery), no guide book, and no way of getting Jeffery back. But he does have an ace in the hole. Jeffery's dad was a history professor and Jeffery picked up much of his knowledge. So now the two of them, travel through time, giving history a push along where it is needed.