S01.E10: Topanga

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:19 AM, chaifan said:

First, why why why would anyone caught in 10kBC not want to go back to modern times?  Really?  What is there to even think about in that situation?  And for Seal MD Dad to make the decision for his teenage daughter to stay in 10kBC.  Damn, that's bad parenting of the year award.

I think he and Riley stayed because they said they hadn't given up hope of finding a way back to 2021 where their family was.  I can see drug dealer being fine to go back to 1988 because he apparently didn't have any significant connections in 2021.  That's why Veronica was willing to go to 1998 because 2021 didn't hold anything for her but Lilly wanted to go back to her family in 2021 which she couldn't do in 1988.

19 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

With all the drama about Josh and Izzy in pain and their imminent demise we never saw Gavin experience anything like he was going to disappear from the present day

I don't think Gavin and Lilly/Ella were in danger of disappearing because the timeline where they were born wasn't altered.  On the other hand, if Gavin/Isiah didn't go to 1988, he doesn't grow up there, meet Eve and conceive Josh and Izzy so they disappear.

19 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

So Paara tells them about the shortcut that’s near another settlement with hostile people that we never see.

I believe she said they were no longer around but they left traps.

9 hours ago, alvajon said:

So who set bear/animal trap, although Paara mentioned that the village people near the Topanga mountain set traps--but with modern chains and traps?

I thought those chains looked like something you could find in the Civil war era so it could have come with whoever brought the gold.

The plot holes in the show are bigger than the LA sinkhole but, in spite of that, I'll be back for season 2. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Mrs. Stanwyck

[momo]

On 11/30/2021 at 11:57 PM, eskimo said:

The show provides the cheese.  😄

 

🤣

[timeless]

Did anyone else catch Silas saying Isiah/Gavin, "I'll see you later"  knowing that he was heading to the portal?????

[EllaWycliffe]

4 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

On the other hand, if Gavin/Isiah didn't go to 1988, he doesn't grow up there

This is where time travel gets messed up. If Gavin never goes to the future, then how can he be in the future at all? He never went to the future so he can't be a pilot etc, let alone marry Eve. 

[iMonrey]

At some point, they need to explain why there are two different time rifts within walking distance of the clearing where the La Brea people landed, one that led them there from 2021 and one that leads to 1988, whereas there is another time rift 1100 miles away that leads back to 2021. I mean, the sinkhole in Seattle opened (approximately) 10 days after the one in La Brea, so why do they both lead back to the exact same time? Why would Gavin even think they would? For all they know they could be jumping back a million years. All these characters act like they understand how all this works, but that's impossible.  

[Lugal]

On 12/1/2021 at 8:19 AM, chaifan said:

First, why why why would anyone caught in 10kBC not want to go back to modern times?  Really?  What is there to even think about in that situation?

On 12/1/2021 at 1:46 PM, Quickbeam said:

I laugh inappropriately every time someone says “1988? No way!” or similar words. It was an ok year but I guess life without smartphones isn’t worth living……

No smartphones is actually a selling point for me.  As for 1988, hmm, that's about the time I started middle school...so, middle school or dire wolves?  Yeah, I'd stay in 10000 BC.

On 12/1/2021 at 2:13 PM, shapeshifter said:

So I'm the only one who wasn't paying enough attention to see it was a a tower? I thought it was a rocket for space travel:

The way the base kinda flared out it could l have been a rocket which would also be cool.  I had an idea for a story years about about time travelers who build a moon colony in the past and by now they're a super advanced civilization. 

But anyway, I didn't see anything else that looked like a launch site, just a tower out in the middle of nowhere.  It's Holocene Heights, the swankiest neighborhood of 10000 BC.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Lugal

[mythoughtis]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

At some point, they need to explain why there are two different time rifts within walking distance of the clearing where the La Brea people landed, one that led them there from 2021 and one that leads to 1988, whereas there is another time rift 1100 miles away that leads back to 2021. I mean, the sinkhole in Seattle opened (approximately) 10 days after the one in La Brea, so why do they both lead back to the exact same time? Why would Gavin even think they would? For all they know they could be jumping back a million years. All these characters act like they understand how all this works, but that's impossible.  

We don’t know if the  Seattle sinkhole has an escape route back any timeframe yet.  And you are correct that we don’t know what timeframe they actually landed.  They could be later 

[Dowel Jones]

Next we'll find out that the gubmint has been constructing time tunnels all through the nation. "Now boarding at Port 3 for Seattle, Portland. San Francisco, and Topanga, with transfers to 1864, 1988, 10,000BC, and Hill Valley 1955.  Have your boarding passes ready, please."

[methodwriter85]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:31 AM, EllaWycliffe said:

Because I've read a lot of Stephen King books and the show's version of Homeland Security reminds me of The Shop, I could see some fear that anyone older than Lily and Isaiah would be detained indefinitely while the magic was studied. Now, I am a paranoid sort and none of these people seem to have a thought in their heads so your point is still valid. 1988 lacked the internet and decent cell phones but you could make a killing in the stock market and watch the shopping malls die. 

I could maybe kinda see the reasoning for the gay couple to not want to live through the extremely homophobic 80's and 90's but yeah, I didn't get why more people weren't jumping for joy at the thought of getting to live in modern times again.

Of course, I'm an 80's nostalgia geek so I would have jumped for joy at getting to live through 1988 as a thirty-something instead of a 2-year old.

[North of Eden]

Love the show but I do have some questions....

So no one noticed a skyscraper within walking distance of the clearing?!

Why didn't Ella immediatly dissapear from 2021 if she never went with Gavin (as I don't believe Lily and the others were whisked away to 1988...I think they went elsewhen)

Being a sci/fi fan practically since birth I was SHOCKD that not once did anyone address the absolute corruption to the timeline that allowing a clearing full of people the option to travel to 1988 with thirty plus years of knowledge of the future...with that knowledge they could have warned of the sink hole preventing everyone being swallowed up and at that point the paradoxes would probably shred reality as Doc Brown feared LOL.

At the very least someone should have mentioned what it would be like for the same person to exist in the same time line at the same time.

As said though I do love the show and enjoyed it very  much.  Last week I posted they shot themselves in the foot for only ten episodes and I stand by that more than ever now that the strong ratings for the finale set in.  They've got momentum and now its grinding to a halt until next October? Today's short attention spans will be no friend to Season 2 ratings.

[shapeshifter]

24 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

was SHOCKD that not once did anyone address the absolute corruption to the timeline that allowing a clearing full of people the option to travel to 1988 with thirty plus years of knowledge of the future...with that knowledge they could have warned of the sink hole preventing everyone being swallowed up

Anyone who has either been a parent or sat on a planning committee or board of an organization knows how difficult it is to convince people of anything, no matter how simple the concept and no matter how well-documented. 
So, while it would make great Tee Vee plot drama, I *seriously* doubt anyone with the access to power necessary to shut down LA around La Brea is going to listen to people like Eve, Josh, etc. about sinkholes opening up in the future to the past.

Nevertheless, @North of Eden, I think you have hit upon the perfect Lost-like scenario for the show to follow. 
But, likewise, good luck pitching it to TPTB! 
Heh.

[Dowel Jones]

Since it seems that the sinkholes were originally intended, although probably out of control now, warning city leaders of an impending disaster would just result in a sinkhole somewhere else.

4 hours ago, North of Eden said:

So no one noticed a skyscraper within walking distance of the clearing?!

There is a severe lack of curiosity among the population of the clearing.  No one does anything except sit around, maybe playing softball occasionally.  Only the leads do any exploring, and usually for all the wrong reasons. 

Interestingly enough, though, they walked from past-downtown LA to past-Topanga in one episode, a not insignificant distance even in the current era of roads.

[North of Eden]

4 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

 

There is a severe lack of curiosity among the population of the clearing.  No one does anything except sit around, maybe playing softball occasionally.  Only the leads do any exploring, and usually for all the wrong reasons. 

 

Yeah, they are basically the "red shirt" plane crash survivors from LOST who never got to do anything epic like Jack and Kate. They were just there to mill around in the background until they got uncermoniously killed in a variety of ways and none of the regulars mourned.

[CoyoteBlue]

On 12/4/2021 at 7:49 AM, North of Eden said:

Being a sci/fi fan practically since birth I was SHOCKD that not once did anyone address the absolute corruption to the timeline that allowing a clearing full of people the option to travel to 1988 with thirty plus years of knowledge of the future...with that knowledge they could have warned of the sink hole preventing everyone being swallowed up and at that point the paradoxes would probably shred reality as Doc Brown feared LOL.

While it's not unreasonable that Isaiah forgot his past and become Gavin (and probably doesn't really understand the situation with the 2021 folks), Lily is old enough to remember EVERYTHING and yet she... didn't. So the real worry for everyone should be "Do I want to go through that light and have my entire life wiped out of my brain?"

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

While it's not unreasonable that Isaiah forgot his past and become Gavin (and probably doesn't really understand the situation with the 2021 folks), Lily is old enough to remember EVERYTHING and yet she... didn't. So the real worry for everyone should be "Do I want to go through that light and have my entire life wiped out of my brain?"

But they don't know that, do they? 

[chaifan]

On 12/4/2021 at 8:49 AM, North of Eden said:

Being a sci/fi fan practically since birth I was SHOCKD that not once did anyone address the absolute corruption to the timeline that allowing a clearing full of people the option to travel to 1988 with thirty plus years of knowledge of the future...with that knowledge they could have warned of the sink hole preventing everyone being swallowed up and at that point the paradoxes would probably shred reality as Doc Brown feared LOL.

At the very least someone should have mentioned what it would be like for the same person to exist in the same time line at the same time.

 

I don't disagree with anything you're saying, but how anyone can even think for one second that staying in 10kBC would be better than going to 1988?  No one would be thinking about corrupting a timeline, or what if they ran into themselves.  They'd be thinking food, shelter, modern medicine, and not being prey to giant sabertooth tigers.  There's no reason for anyone down there to believe there's any other chance out - they know the rift to their sink hole has closed, so no one else is coming through there.  They know other sinkholes have happened, but it seems to be once in every hundred years or so.  Rebecca obviously knows other ways in/out, but she hasn't revealed that, she just told them to get to the 1988 opening if they wanted to leave.  The show hasn't given us any plausible explanation as to why anyone would even consider sticking around vs. going to 1988, why they even think they have a chance of being saved if they stick around.  Especially Scott.  Everything about that character screams get me the hell outta here!  The only character with any possible motivation for staying is Ty, and that's because a) he's dying anyways, and b) twu luv.

This is just lazy writing & show production.  The producers could have easily delved into this, built in a possible other way out if people stayed.  But they didn't.  They could have had everyone head for the mountain, but only 1/2 make it due to an earthquake, or broken bridge, or the aforementioned saber tooth tigers.  But they didn't.  They claim to leave all these open threads/unanswered questions on purpose, but I call total BS.  Lost tried that too, and was proven later that no, they didn't have a map for all the seasons and were making things up as they went along. 

It just irks me so much that this show had potential.  It was different, it had endless possibilities for plot lines and character development.  They even had an extra year to figure all this out due to covid.  And this is what we got.  ugh.

ETA:  @shapeshifter is right - no one other than Rebecca knows that Gavin lost his memory going through the rift.  So no one in 10kBC would have reason to not want to go to 1988 for fear of memory loss.  (Even then - in the battle of memory loss vs. sabertooth tiger, memory loss wins hands down for me.)

Edited December 6, 2021 by chaifan

[Dowel Jones]

One thing to consider is that, although we the audience know but they don't (yet), is that there are several villages and a seemingly advanced (for 10kBC) civilization around there.  There is the technology to construct that huge palisade around the local village, steel traps available, whatever that giant rocket is.  Depending on someone's view of their life in 1988, some might make the choice of staying put and making a new life there.  With the right tools and knowledge, it may not be all that different from pioneering into the West in the 19th Century.

[shapeshifter]

57 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Depending on someone's view of their life in 1988, some might make the choice of staying put and making a new life there.  With the right tools and knowledge, it may not be all that different from pioneering into the West in the 19th Century.

If just one person arrived in 10K BC with, say, strep throat, welp, “there goes the neighborhood.” ☠️ 
——although there might be a couple who would have natural immunity to a particular disease (I don’t catch strep throat), it seems their chances of long term survival in 10K BC are greatly diminished if there isn’t a critical number of humans.   
   They really shouldn’t be shooting each other if they want to survive.

But, yeah, they don’t seem to have included one or more characters from the 2021 group who have extensive skills and experience to survive without modern conveniences, and who might relish the opportunity to stay and live in a pristine world——or even any seriously outdoorsy types. I guess that had to be a conscious choice to fuel the future plot arcs? 

Edited December 6, 2021 by shapeshifter

[North of Eden]

9 hours ago, chaifan said:

I

ETA:  @shapeshifter is right - no one other than Rebecca knows that Gavin lost his memory going through the rift.  So no one in 10kBC would have reason to not want to go to 1988 for fear of memory loss.  (Even then - in the battle of memory loss vs. sabertooth tiger, memory loss wins hands down for me.)

Rebecca knowing about the memory loss is the only SOUND explanation why she would encourage people to take the options because as some sort of time travel scientist she should be aware of the undescribable danger in allowing all the future knowledge loose on the world.

It was frustrating that we never saw what happened to stop anyone wishing to take the option to leave...there had to be SOME people that wanted out...yet as soon as the regulars go off on the rescue mission we never find out why  no one else showed up at the green light.

[Amy Beth]

I just realized that we never found out who was electrocuting people (and how).

[mythoughtis]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But they don't know that, do they? 

Eve knows that Gavin has no memories of before he was found 

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Eve knows that Gavin has no memories of before he was found 

But she doesn't know why.  I think most people would assume the reason was some sort of traumatic repression, not "oh, his memories must have been wiped during his childhood time travel".  She never made any mention to Isaiah that his memories would be wiped, she didn't pin a note to his coat, etc.  So there's no reason to believe Eve knows memories will be erased.

There is also the possibility that memories weren't actually erased, but simply repressed due to a) the trauma of time travel, and/or b) upon getting to 1988, they tried telling their story but everyone thought they were lying/crazy, so they shut up, and after a while convinced themselves it couldn't have been true.  So the memories became more like a dream. 

Of course, with this show, it's just as possible that the green light takes them to the Emerald City where The Wizard of Oz greets Isaiah on the other end, whisks him off into a space ship piloted by Buck Rogers where they meet up with the Enterprise (TNG) and Dr. Crusher removes his memories before returning him to 1988 Earth. 

[madmax]

I figured the trip to 1988 would be a way to get rid of most of the red shirts, but apparently none of them went.  I still wonder why the camp was so deserted if no one but Isiah went to 1988 and Wolf Snack, Riley and Lily went wherever they went.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, chaifan said:

But she doesn't know why.  I think most people would assume the reason was some sort of traumatic repression, not "oh, his memories must have been wiped during his childhood time travel".  She never made any mention to Isaiah that his memories would be wiped, she didn't pin a note to his coat, etc.  So there's no reason to believe Eve knows memories will be erased.

There is also the possibility that memories weren't actually erased, but simply repressed due to a) the trauma of time travel, and/or b) upon getting to 1988, they tried telling their story but everyone thought they were lying/crazy, so they shut up, and after a while convinced themselves it couldn't have been true.  So the memories became more like a dream. 

Of course, with this show, it's just as possible that the green light takes them to the Emerald City where The Wizard of Oz greets Isaiah on the other end, whisks him off into a space ship piloted by Buck Rogers where they meet up with the Enterprise (TNG) and Dr. Crusher removes his memories before returning him to 1988 Earth. 

Yes, heh, the memory-wipe plot point can still go a variety of ways without anyone having to complain too much about retconning.

 

[EllaWycliffe]

12 minutes ago, chaifan said:

There is also the possibility that memories weren't actually erased, but simply repressed due to a) the trauma of time travel, and/or b) upon getting to 1988, they tried telling their story but everyone thought they were lying/crazy, so they shut up, and after a while convinced themselves it couldn't have been true.  So the memories became more like a dream. 

Honestly I think both Isaiah and Lily are a little too old for this to be the case. I mean, Lily is 12 and Isaiah is 9. If they were 4-7, I could believe they'd forget relatives and their own names. If Steven Staynor can manage it under worse real life circumstances then yeah I think they'd remember their own names. 

[Amy Beth]

21 minutes ago, chaifan said:

But she doesn't know why.  I think most people would assume the reason was some sort of traumatic repression, not "oh, his memories must have been wiped during his childhood time travel".  She never made any mention to Isaiah that his memories would be wiped, she didn't pin a note to his coat, etc.  So there's no reason to believe Eve knows memories will be erased.

There is also the possibility that memories weren't actually erased, but simply repressed due to a) the trauma of time travel, and/or b) upon getting to 1988, they tried telling their story but everyone thought they were lying/crazy, so they shut up, and after a while convinced themselves it couldn't have been true.  So the memories became more like a dream. 

Of course, with this show, it's just as possible that the green light takes them to the Emerald City where The Wizard of Oz greets Isaiah on the other end, whisks him off into a space ship piloted by Buck Rogers where they meet up with the Enterprise (TNG) and Dr. Crusher removes his memories before returning him to 1988 Earth. 

The show implied pretty heavily that foundling Isaiah was too young to remember anything. But the actor playing him seems much older than the usual 3 -4 years that a “regular” human would need to be to start remembering things.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

1 hour ago, madmax said:

I figured the trip to 1988 would be a way to get rid of most of the red shirts, but apparently none of them went. 

Technically, I don't think we know for sure if anyone else went.  Lilly and Veronica went on their own - maybe others did too.  We know Lilly and Veronica got held up by the bear trap and Eve and the others got delayed while fighting LaBrea's version of "The Others"  There could have been others that walked there, didn't step in a bear trap or do battle with the others, and went through the light - we just didn't see it.  We might find out next season that half of the nonspeaking red shirts are missing because they went to 1988.  We know Rebecca presented the option to everyone but we only heard the discussion from the leads.  Drug Dealer and his mother were going through and Veronica wanted to go through with Lilly.  Gay couple decided to avoid the homophobic 80;s, Navy Seal and his daughter wanted to find a way back to their family in 2021, and Ty decided not to go because if they can't do anything for him in 2021, what are they going to do for him in 1988? 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Technically, I don't think we know for sure if anyone else went.  Lilly and Veronica went on their own - maybe others did too.  We know Lilly and Veronica got held up by the bear trap and Eve and the others got delayed while fighting LaBrea's version of "The Others"  There could have been others that walked there, didn't step in a bear trap or do battle with the others, and went through the light - we just didn't see it.  We might find out next season that half of the nonspeaking red shirts are missing because they went to 1988. 

True👆 that we don't know where the red shirts were during most of the last episode, so they might have gone to 1988. Kudos to the writers for leaving it open-ended. Any one of the red shirts extras could appear at any time in '88 next season.

 

1 hour ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Ty decided not to go because if they can't do anything for him in 2021, what are they going to do for him in 1988? 

Maybe Ty and Paara can go to 2032 so Ty can get treated. (I'm suggesting not too far in the future because it means no big budget expenditures for Jetson-style cars, etc.)

[North of Eden]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

 

Maybe Ty and Paara can go to 2032 so Ty can get treated. (I'm suggesting not too far in the future because it means no big budget expenditures for Jetson-style cars, etc.)

The future....I wouldn't be surprised if that's where Lily and the older teens wound up as a contrast to everyone else adventuring in the past.

[KaveDweller]

7 hours ago, chaifan said:

But she doesn't know why.  I think most people would assume the reason was some sort of traumatic repression, not "oh, his memories must have been wiped during his childhood time travel".  She never made any mention to Isaiah that his memories would be wiped, she didn't pin a note to his coat, etc.  So there's no reason to believe Eve knows memories will be erased.

There is also the possibility that memories weren't actually erased, but simply repressed due to a) the trauma of time travel, and/or b) upon getting to 1988, they tried telling their story but everyone thought they were lying/crazy, so they shut up, and after a while convinced themselves it couldn't have been true.  So the memories became more like a dream. 

We actually know the memories weren't totally erased, since Gavin started remembering things from when his childhood self saw Eve. And Ella had all that artwork showing the symbol from the village.

I can actually buy some people not going to 1988 if they have families in 2021 like Riley and Sam. Going to 1988 means not interacting with them for 30 years. Maybe they could secretly watch their younger selves or something, but that's not the same as having a wife/child. I think some people may stay in 10,000 BC for the hope that another light will open up that will lead them closer to their original timeline. They know there have been lots of other sinkholes (such as Diana's) that could have lead to 2021.

Now if they had been down there for months or years and really faced hardships, I can see them jumping at a chance to go to 1988. But it has only been a couple weeks and they don't seem to be suffering too much yet.

[izabella]

On 12/1/2021 at 1:57 AM, Dowel Jones said:

Favorite line of the night, from Scott:  "I've read a lot of sci-fi, and there's always someone who knows something but won't tell what they know.  And it's usually the bad guy."

That was perfect. 

On 11/30/2021 at 10:57 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

like how "the long way" to the mountain in Topanga only took about 10 minutes longer than the short way.  WTF ?

Hmm, what to do, what to do?  Climb a rickety ladder over a tarpit, or take a 10 minute detour? 

31 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I can actually buy some people not going to 1988 if they have families in 2021 like Riley and Sam. Going to 1988 means not interacting with them for 30 years. Maybe they could secretly watch their younger selves or something, but that's not the same as having a wife/child.

I wonder how they would get ID and a SS number, and an identity to start over in 1988.  They can't be who they are, and none of their ID's would be valid.  They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

[Bort]

23 minutes ago, izabella said:

I wonder how they would get ID and a SS number, and an identity to start over in 1988.  They can't be who they are, and none of their ID's would be valid.  They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

Getting a fake ID wasn’t that difficult in 1988. You could even get a real one by cruising a cemetery, finding someone who died young but would be about your age if they’d lived, apply for a duplicate copy of their birth certificate, then use that to get a SSN and drivers license. Seems to be a popular method in thriller/mystery books I read, would be worth a shot.

[pezgirl7]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

I wonder how they would get ID and a SS number, and an identity to start over in 1988.  They can't be who they are, and none of their ID's would be valid.  They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

Exactly! If they tried to explain what happened to them, people would think they were crazy. They would arrive in 1988 essentially homeless with no money, no friends, no family, no job. I suppose they could try to contact family members, but would those family members believe their story? After a while I suppose they could become rich from knowing future events. But I think it would still be a struggle, and if they know there are people who are trying to rescue them, and they have family they want to get back to, I don't think it's strange at all that they would choose to stay in 10,000BC.

[KaveDweller]

2 hours ago, izabella said:

That was perfect. 

Hmm, what to do, what to do?  Climb a rickety ladder over a tarpit, or take a 10 minute detour? 

I wonder how they would get ID and a SS number, and an identity to start over in 1988.  They can't be who they are, and none of their ID's would be valid.  They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

Right! It was easy for the kids, because they assumed the parents were not alive/around and put them into the system. They had adopted parents who took care of them. And it sounds like they both lucked out with decent parents. They wouldn't do that with adults.

Although, if they all lost their memories, I wonder what the authorities would do about a mass group of people found with amnesia?

Also, you need some start up cash to make money in the stock market, and that would take awhile. If you know your sports history I guess it would be easier to make some money.

[mythoughtis]

11 hours ago, izabella said:

They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

Ah, the original story for the next remake of the 4400.   
 

It’s all so ludicrous, yet I watch both this and 4400 every week.  Popcorn, anyone?  

[Amy Beth]

11 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Getting a fake ID wasn’t that difficult in 1988. You could even get a real one by cruising a cemetery, finding someone who died young but would be about your age if they’d lived, apply for a duplicate copy of their birth certificate, then use that to get a SSN and drivers license. Seems to be a popular method in thriller/mystery books I read, would be worth a shot.

No need to cruise the cemetery. You go to the library and read the obits on microfiche. Anybody else remember microfiche?

[proserpina65]

On 11/30/2021 at 11:36 PM, Frozendiva said:

Why is the mastadon on the beach?

That was by far the least nonsensical thing to happen in this episode.  Although my friend and I both noticed that it disappeared in the long shot.  Maybe it got sucked up through the sinkhole and is now rampaging outside of Seattle.

I do think it was a mammoth, not a mastadon.  I'm not an expert, though.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/mammoth-or-mastodon.htm

On 12/1/2021 at 4:44 AM, mertensia said:

Yeah, what a moron. "The green light goes to 1988 LA!" *People disappear in the light*. "Where did they go?!"

I wouldn't assume it goes to 1988 when it sort of exploded at the end.  That gate may have been closed and a new one opened somewhere/when.

On 12/1/2021 at 10:19 AM, chaifan said:

Where is the metal coming from for the bear traps and chains? 

That was a modern bear trap.  Someone brought it through a hole at some point, is my guess.

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, izabella said:

They wouldn't exist at all as far as the government is concerned, unless they were over 33 years old, and if they are, their younger selves exist in that timeline with their identity.  It's not like they can explain they are from 2021, fell down a sinkhole to 10kBC, and then climbed through another sinkhole to 1988.

5 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Ah, the original story for the next remake of the 4400.   

On 12/6/2021 at 7:49 AM, North of Eden said:

It was frustrating that we never saw what happened to stop anyone wishing to take the option to leave...there had to be SOME people that wanted out...yet as soon as the regulars go off on the rescue mission we never find out why  no one else showed up at the green light.

Wait. I'm having trouble keeping track of my sci-fi shows.
Do both the current remake of the 4400 and La Brea have folks getting sucked into a different time via a green light?

 

[mythoughtis]

7 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Wait. I'm having trouble keeping track of my sci-fi shows.
Do both the current remake of the 4400 and La Brea have folks getting sucked into a different time via a green light?

 

Yes. But we see a quick flash of green light in 4400 and have been seeing a slowly closing one here.  The one that took Josh, Rachel and Lily  was a flash though

Edited December 7, 2021 by mythoughtis

[shapeshifter]

30 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Yes. But we see a quick flash of green light in 4400 and have been seeing a slowly closing one here.  The one that took Josh, Rachel and Lily  was a flash though

Thanks. I wish one was a blue light.

[CarpeFelis]

On 12/7/2021 at 11:44 AM, shapeshifter said:

Thanks. I wish one was a blue light.

Making our time travelers a K-Mart Special?

Anyone else notice how Eve still has a perfect manicure after all this time down there? I can’t even pack for a trip without at least one of my nails getting destroyed, but she’s been running around this wilderness and hers are spotless. (Okay, they’re probably gels, but still.) I’m so sure!

[Dowel Jones]

She just goes over to the salon that fell through the sinkhole.  Along with everyone else who has perfect hair.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

She just goes over to the salon that fell through the sinkhole.  Along with everyone else who has perfect hair.

That version of the show would be So Much More entertaining!

[TV Anonymous]

On 11/30/2021 at 11:36 PM, Frozendiva said:

Why is the mastadon on the beach?

Looking at the tusks and the hump, it was a woolly mammoth. Wrong range, though. You were right that lower North America was the range for mastodon. Guess TPTB simply DGAF.

[Camera One]

The finale was relatively entertaining but full of holes in more than one way, LOL.  

Count me among the thousands who banged my head against the wall when Gavin, Izzy and Ella jumped into the sinkhole without even a backpack of supplies.  The other sinkholes stayed open for a few days, so surely they could have taken an hour or two to get ready.  What's the use of going to "rescue" their loved ones if they died before reaching LA, or if they got to LA and realized no one had any antibiotics.  And neither of the government agents thought to bring this up?   Wasn't that government agent man concerned about earthquakes if anyone entered a sinkhole?  Or is that no longer a concern because no airplane is involved?

Lilly didn't even have time to look up her family after getting her memories back, and she's already going back to the ice age to help Veronica?  That's really sad.

I'm surprised and disappointed the Writers are openly declaring they aren't into "details".  Not that it's too surprising with this type of show and the writing we've seen so far, but it makes me even more wary that they're throwing story darts on the wall.  I've been burned so many times with high concept sci-fi shows with high potential and very little living up to it.  Heck, Scott the big sci-fi fan is walking right into a trap with the evil scientist lady.

I didn't expect Josh and Riley to go poof and I'm not keen on another split narrative.  I'll miss Sophia the government agent, though.  

Once again, the distances from one place to another on this show are so inconsistent.  Getting Isaiah to the light was so time-sensitive unless it wasn't.  If Josh was in pain, Eve and Isaiah should have gone ahead immediately instead of slowing down intentionally for who knows how long before pausing to have long meaningful goodbyes.  But then again, apparently all the characters on this show can zip up a mountain like a Road Runner.

Only Lucas and Mary-Beth decided to go to 1988?  I thought everyone who wanted to go to the mountain headed off with the group, but as others pointed out, perhaps not?  Mary-Beth really grew on me, so it's too bad she died.  I'd rather have said bye-bye to Lucas.

How convenient for the seismic activity/sinkhole to "shift" to a location which minimizes CGI costs.  There's no budget for a sinkhole in Seattle.  The government evacuation allowed for people to pack their bags?  But no need, the frick'in sinkhole already fully formed.

Well, I'm glad I decided to binge this show, though I decided not to bother until I was sure it was renewed.  Too bad it will be such a long time before the next season.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Camera One

[raven]

It was an OK finale.  The show is too far up its own ass - sinkholes!  time travel!  portals!  sky people! non-indigenous people! not enough animal attacks!  weird deaths!   It started out fun and then bogged itself down.  Maybe next season will be more fun.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, raven said:

It was an OK finale.  The show is too far up its own ass - sinkholes!  time travel!  portals!  sky people! non-indigenous people! not enough animal attacks!  weird deaths!   It started out fun and then bogged itself down.  Maybe next season will be more fun.

Maybe they will actually take time to evaluate which pieces of spaghetti stuck to the ceiling plot points actually landed.

[KittyQ]

On 11/30/2021 at 7:13 PM, KaveDweller said:

If Gavin, Ella/Lilly, and Izzy jumped into a sinkhole in the woods outside of Seattle, how did they land on the beach? And if Gavin was planning to jump down there why did he not think to bring any supplies? There is taking a risk and then there is just being stupid.

You could guess that perhaps that long ago much of the land was under water.  

I agree about the supplies. Even given that they worry that the sinkhole will close, at least get whatever they can from the cars, or the campground, even.

 

I haven't driven from LA to Seattle, but I dare say it takes more than 1 day.

Also, wasn't the huge LA sinkhole a major news story? If so, wouldn't anyone in government be anxious to avoid a repeat instead of worrying that their job would be toast?

 

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, KittyQ said:

Also, wasn't the huge LA sinkhole a major news story?

"Good evening.  This is Rich HeadofHair with the evening news.  A giant sinkhole has opened up in downtown Los Angeles, killing possibly thousands of people and causing several million dollars in damages.  Rumors abound about the causes and the possibility of time travel.  But first, this story out of Hollywood.  Are Kim Kardashian and Kanye West really breaking up?  We go live to our intrepid street reporter now!"

[Lugal]

On 1/17/2022 at 6:16 PM, KittyQ said:

You could guess that perhaps that long ago much of the land was under water.

Actually, due to the Ice Age, the oceans were much shallower, so they should have been further from the beach.  Although jumping into Ice Age Seattle, I'd have been more concerned about the thousand feet of ice covering the area.