Time Traveling, TV, and the Magic of Circumstance

Continuing its love affair with milking projects for every penny it can, Hollywood isn't done with The Time Traveler's Wife. The Wrap has reported that Audrey Niffenegger's novel will now head for the small screen, with ABC grabbing Friends creator Marta Kauffman and Warner Bros. to develop it into a weekly series. The idea is that a weekly show will allow the relationship between Henry and Clare to be fleshed out, while also throwing in some "self-contained storylines."

Now this isn't exactly a spur of the moment decision. Industry Insiders claim that a television adaptation has been talked about for a while, and surely those talks became a reality once Time Traveler's numbers started pouring in. But is it a good one?

If this was a cable series dedicated to the intricacies of the book, both youth and adulthood, setting out the complicated path and digging into both the light and dark points -- maybe. But as a primetime series on ABC? This just brings to mind a certain My Big Fat Greek Life on CBS -- pretty much the most dismal recreation of a popular film I've ever seen.


On the one side, there is circumstance. MBFGL failed because it didn't hold the magic that Nia Vardalos' film did, becoming a perfect example of how basic stories aren't the magic of a film -- it's the subtle writing around the plot, the way its shot, the format it's in. As a sitcom, the film's life was sucked out.

That being said, I would be profoundly shocked if Time Traveler's Wife turned out that badly, but there's still the importance of circumstance. Is the story one that would hold up overall? Especially if you've read the book and know where it leads?

And that brings me to problem #2. I've been reluctant to watch the film because it focuses on the romance and both characters in adult life. And every memory I have of the book, and why I enjoyed it, was because of the implausible but unique idea of genetic time travel, and how that plays out over the course of a woman's life. Sure, it was a romance, but it was one that was only interesting because of the carefully weaved structure that held it. However, between the book and initial talk of the series, it's clear that all they've got is hearts and romance on the brain.

Can it hold up? Just what makes a successful twist from film to television? I would say it's any project that has a solid basic situation that can then be shaped at will (M*A*S*H). An intricate time travel story? I'm not so sure.