The Time Traveler's Wife HBO Series

 

Based on: 2003 novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger

Written & Developed by: Steven Moffat

Directed by: David Nutter

Executive producers: Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, Brian Minchin, David Nutter

Starring: 

Clare Abshire portrayed by: Rose Leslie, Everleigh McDonell (young), Caitlin Shorey (pre-teen) 

Henry DeTamble portrayed by: Theo James, Jason David (young), Brian Altemus (teen)

I'd seen the 2009 movie, so I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into--but this series was so much better! 

It's kind of my own rule of thumb that books always deserve to be made into TV series, not movies. (Not that that's something I can do anything about. At least not yet.) But when I see a series that's based on a book, I'm always excited at the idea, because TV series can do so much more than movies can. 

I thought the series did a great job from the get-go, and every episode had me glued to the screen. The first scene started off well, too. Knowing the audience was mostly familiar with the idea, the pilot opened with Clare meeting Henry for his first time--and Clare knowing who Henry was, but not vice-versa. It was a great, fresh loop to have Henry, the time traveler and usually wiser one, be the confused one. 

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Henry and Clare in some of their many 'out-of-order' meetings

And the show kept running from there. It jumped around quite a lot, but that only made sense with the story's plotline. It presented a purposeful sense of confusion so we could better empathize with Henry's struggle. At the same time, it gave us simultaneous interviews with an older Henry and Clare to help keep us up. The second (or was it third) episode introduced the death of his mother with a powerful imagery that showed how the trauma effects Henry's time travel. The scene was very effective. 

The show embraces both genres as the book, romance and sci-fi, and both worked. Romance is the strongest current throughout, which makes the most sense, since it's a story about a couple meeting and about their relationship. But the vector is sci-fi and this brings the flare of drama, the plot devices that push the story seamlessly forward, and it kept me on the edge of my chair. 

Henry teaching his younger self how to handle time-travel events

Henry meets Clare's family for his first time. It doesn't go well.

I've also got to make room to praise the Steven Moffat, Rose Leslie, and Theo James. Steven Moffat is a veteran time-travel expert, having written some of my favorite (aka the best) episodes of Doctor Who like "Blink," "The Girl in the Fire Place," and much of River Song's character saga. These were all particularly great episodes for their use of time travel, so it's so surprise that Traveler used the device excellently as well. Rose and Theo were also excellent in their roles. There wasn't a performance they didn't sell or scene they didn't capture. I felt the story fully along with them. I believed Henry's cynicism and I understood it, and I believed Clare's hopeless romanticism and high expectations. I don't think it's too high of a shot to say these three individuals were crucial to this season's success. 

There were a couple ominous teases in season 1 that didn't pay off. Allusions to violence yet to come that we never learned more about. This seems to be Moffat writing toward a season 2, one with potentially darker tones and higher stakes. I want to see where that goes!