Voyagers!

Voyagers!
Promotional photo of Jeffrey and Phineas
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	James D. Parriott
Written by	Jill Donner Robert Janes James D. Parriott Harry Longstreet Renee Longstreet
Directed by	Alan J. Levi Bernard McEveety Ron Satlof Paul Stanley Virgil W. Vogel
Starring	Jon-Erik Hexum Meeno Peluce
Composer(s)	Jerrold Immel Elliot Kaplan J. A. C. Redford
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producer(s)	James D. Parriott
Producer(s)	Robert Bennett Steinhauer Jill Donner Harry Longstreet Renee Longstreet
Editor(s)	George Ohanian
Cinematography	Eddie Rio Rotunno
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company(s)	James D. Parriott Productions Scholastic Productions Universal Television
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	October 3, 1982 (1982-10-03) – July 31, 1983 (1983-07-31)

Voyagers! is an American science fiction time travel-based television series that aired on NBC during the 1982–1983 season. The series stars Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce.

Plot

Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) was one of a society of time travelers called Voyagers who, with the help of a young boy named Jeffrey Jones (played by Meeno Peluce) used a hand-held device called an Omni (which looked much like a large pocket watch) to travel in time and ensured that history unfolded as we know it. In the first episode Jeffrey ensured that baby Moses' basket traveled down the Nile where it was met by the Pharaoh's daughter.

Bogg and Jeffrey first met when Bogg's Omni malfunctioned and took him to 1982, landing him in the apartment of Jeffrey's aunt and uncle, who were caring for him after his parents' death. Jeffrey accidentally fell out of a window, and Bogg jumped out to rescue him by activating the Omni. Bogg's Guidebook, which contained a detailed description of how history should unfold, had been grabbed by Jeffrey's dog Ralph so Bogg had to rely on Jeffrey (whose father was a history professor) to help him.

Phineas is timeless in his machismo, and manages to fall for a beautiful woman in almost every episode. Phineas's memory of historical facts is highly selective. He couldn't tell the difference between the French Revolution and World War I, yet he did remember that "Marie Antoinette had terrible legs!" Whenever Jeffrey's wisdom is paired up against Bogg's stubbornness, Jeffrey usually wins out, to which Bogg always mutters, "Smart kids give me a pain!"

Over the closing credits of each episode, regular cast member Meeno Peluce said in voice over: "If you want to learn more about {historical element from the episode}, take a voyage down to your public library. It's all in books!"

Cast

Actor	Role
Jon-Erik Hexum	Phineas Bogg
Meeno Peluce	Jeffrey Jones
Stephen Liska	Voyager Drake
Tracy Brooks Swope	Voyager Olivia
Jenny Neumann	Voyager Susan

Reception

Voyagers ran for one season of 20 episodes, broadcast opposite the top-rated 60 Minutes. The series averaged a 17 share. Voyagers! seemed likely to be renewed for a second season, but controversies in 60 Minutes reporting led executives to believe that 60 Minutes might be successfully challenged by a competing news program instead.^[1] NBC canceled Voyagers!^[2] and replaced it with the news magazine program Monitor, which averaged only a 7 share.^[1]

Episodes

No.	Title	Original Airdate
1	"Voyagers"	October 3, 1982 (1982-10-03)
Time traveler Phineas Bogg accidentally goes to New York City in 1982 using a hand held time machine known as an Omni. There he meets 12 year old orphan Jeffrey Jones, whose parents died. but when Jeffrey falls out a window, Bogg goes after him and they both disappear. Bogg cannot bring Jeff back to 1982, because Bogg's Omni only has circuits up to 1970 (Bogg was only able to go to 1982, because his Omni malfunctioned). In saving Jeffrey's life, Bogg was unable to retrieve his Guidebook (a book that tells you how history should have happened) in 1982, so in 1450 BC, Jeff helps Bogg as a Voyager by putting baby Moses in the Nile river in Ancient Egypt, but in France, an alternate ending to World War I is taking place in 1918, without airplanes. They meet an aspiring US actress played by Faye Grant. They both go back in time to 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and there, Bogg angers Jeffrey when he says something about his father. Later, Jeffrey sadly tells Bogg about how his mom and dad died. He cries when he says he couldn't get anyone to stop. Bogg tells Jeffrey not to blame himself and covers Jeff up and Jeff falls asleep. then to Dayton, Ohio and inspire the Wright brothers to invent the first Wright Flyer and then jump ahead in time, making sure the Allies have airplanes in World War I (battling the Red Baron in an aerial dogfight along the way) and then they go to England, on October 14, 1066 in the middle of the Battle of Hastings.
2	"Created Equal"	October 10, 1982 (1982-10-10)
The issue of slavery is focused on as the Voyagers end up in Italy in 73 BC during a gladiator training session overseen by Cicero. They meet Spartacus and are thought to be slaves, but they escape to Missouri in 1847. There, they meet 12 year old Samuel Langhorne Clemens and end up helping Harriet Tubman with the Underground Railroad. They then return to Ancient Rome and free Spartacus so he can rally his fellow slaves back in Capua.
3	"Bully and Billy"	October 24, 1982 (1982-10-24)
The Voyagers end up in Santiago, Cuba on July 1, 1898 during the Spanish-American War, but the Spanish are winning, because Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders aren't there to help because Billy the Kid killed Roosevelt in 1880. After helping Benjamin Franklin with his kite in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 10, 1752, they time travel to 1880 and team up with Billy's outlaw gang to prevent the future U.S. president from being shot in the American Old West.
4	"Agents of Satan"	October 31, 1982 (1982-10-31)
Jeffrey and Bogg land in Salem, Massachusetts, on November 13, 1692, during the Salem witch trials, but the Salem witch trials were supposed to end on September 14, 1692. Bogg & Jeff must prevent the mother of Benjamin Franklin, Abaia Folger, from being hanged. Bogg, however is tried and sentenced as an Agent of Satan, to be burned at the stake, but Jeffrey uses the Omni to send them both to Boston in 1924. There they meet Harry Houdini during a séance and then go to Baltimore, Maryland to return the lyrics of the National Anthem to Francis Scott Key in 1814, just before stopping a charlatan who tries to kill Houdini in 1924, then they go back to 1692 and stop the witch trials for good.
5	"Worlds Apart"	November 7, 1982 (1982-11-07)
After a badly worn-out Omni nearly strands them in Siberia, Bogg & Jeff become separated in the Middle East in 1917 during the conflicts between Arab tribes and Ottoman Turks. Jeffrey barely escapes with the Omni. Bogg meets Lawrence of Arabia, and they are imprisoned by Turks but escape with the help of an Arab woman named Medina. Meanwhile, in Menlo Park, New Jersey (October 19, 1879), Jeffrey helps Thomas Edison with the invention of the electric light. Edison dismantles the Omni and, though unable to learn its secrets, does manage to repair it. Jeffrey then reunites with Bogg in Aqaba, then travel back to 1879 on December 31 to witness Thomas Edison demonstrate incandescent lighting to the public for the first time.
6	"Cleo and the Babe"	November 14, 1982 (1982-11-14)
In Rome, Italy on March 15, 44 BC they meet Cleopatra on the Ides of March where Julius Caesar is assassinated in the Roman Republic on the Senate Floor and help her escape to Egypt, but they end up with her lost in New York City on May 21, 1927. Jeff notices Yankee Stadium is not built, because Babe Ruth never got traded to the New York team. They go and meet Isaac Newton in England, 1669 to help him discover gravity just before going to Boston, Massachusetts in 1919 to make sure Ruth becomes a hitter with the Boston Red Sox. On September 29, 1927, they find Cleopatra, but have to protect Babe Ruth from crime boss Lucky Luciano so Ruth can hit his 60 home run on September 30.
7	"The Day the Rebs Took Lincoln"	November 21, 1982 (1982-11-21)
Bogg & Jeff are captured by the Confederate States Army on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, because the South is winning the American Civil War. They learn that the Confederates kidnapped Abraham Lincoln on April 18, 1862 in Washington, D.C., but after escaping the camp, they go to London, England in 1832 where they meet Charles Dickens. Back in Washington, a presidential liaison betrays Lincoln, but the Voyagers bring Lincoln's hijacked presidential carriage back under Union control.
8	"Old Hickory and the Pirate"	November 28, 1982 (1982-11-28)
In New Orleans, Louisiana of 1815 the War of 1812 has not ended and the British control the city. They help Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the Northwest Passage in 1803 just before they go to The Bahamas in 1798 to keep Jean Lafitte from being convicted of piracy in his future. There they encounter a group of pirates led by Black Bill Scroggins and after a swashbuckling scuffle on the beach, Lafitte goes to New Orleans and the Voyagers jump ahead to the Battle of New Orleans and meet General Andrew Jackson.
9	"The Travels of Marco...and Friends"	December 3, 1982 (1982-12-03)
In New York, on December 11, 1930, the Voyagers save Albert Einstein and his wife from falling desk and then they meet Isaac Wolfstein who is an old retired Voyager. Bogg knows him as the legendary Wildman Wolfstein, but when Isaac asks to go to an island in the South Pacific, they end up helping Clara Barton in France, 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, before going to July 1, 1946 on one of the Marshall Islands. After leaving Isaac on an island, Bogg and Jeff go to China on August 13, 1275. There, they meet Kublai Khan and there he tells them that Marco Polo and the Polo brothers haven't come yet with the holy oil from Jerusalem and then go to Persia in 1272 to keep the Polo brothers from mysteriously disappering. Bogg then goes back and gets Isaac from a nuclear testing site in Bikini Atoll and then they both go to the Strait of Hormuz and with his help, he frees his young companion from mongol slave traders.
10	"An Arrow Pointing East"	December 12, 1982 (1982-12-12)
After arriving just from Hawaii, Bogg and Jeff help a wounded Robin Hood in the Sherwood Forest in England, 1194 and learn from Little John and Friar Tuck that the Sheriff of Nottingham is holding Maid Marian captive. When the Sheriff's soldiers trap the Voyagers, they jump to New York, on May 19, 1927. On Long Island, they help Charles Lindbergh make his historic flight from New York to France in the Spirit of St. Louis. They then go back to help Robin Hood rescue Maid Marian in 1194 before going back again to France on May 21, 1927 to see "Lucky Lindy" land in France..from a distance.
11	"Merry Christmas, Bogg"	December 19, 1982 (1982-12-19)
In Trenton, New Jersey, on December 24, 1776, George Washington is on the wrong side during the American Revolution 1 day before he's supposed to be in the Battle of Trenton, so they go to Mount Vernon, Virginia in 1746 to keep him from joining the Royal Navy as a teenager. Then in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 24, 1892, they meet Jeffrey's great-grandfather, Stephen Jones, who is friends with Samuel Gompers. Bogg & Jeff then go back to 1776 again just before the Battle of Trenton and witness Washington's crossing of the Delaware. Back in 1892, Stephen Jones convinces Bogg to leave the orphaned Jeff with him and his wife. Jeff, however, begs Bogg not to leave him and they stay together.
12	"Buffalo Bill & Annie Play the Palace"	January 9, 1983 (1983-01-09)
In England, 1887 the Voyagers must prevent a wedding between England's Princess Victoria and Duke Michael of Russia. Queen Victoria has invited Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley to perform a Wild West show. A shooting competition was set between the Duke and Annie, but the Duke's men kidnap Oakley to avoid the possibility of the Duke losing. Bogg and Jeff are outnumbered and time jump into Africa, 1913. There, they help Dr. Albert Schweitzer treat a dying chief but a witch doctor, thinks the Voyagers are slave traders. Schweitzer's aid arrives with the medicine in time to save the chief's life and back in England, they free Oakley from the Russians in time for her to beat the Duke at the shooting match, and expose the kidnapping to the queen who breaks off the marriage alliance with the Russians.
13	"The Trial of Phineas Bogg"	January 16, 1983 (1983-01-16)
The Voyagers appear in an empty courtroom with a non-functioning Omni. A defense attorney named Susan claims Bogg has violated the Voyager Code and will be put on trial by Voyager Drake, a tough prosecutor. Three judges take the bench and Bogg is charged with endangering Jeff's life. However, evidence of perjury during the trial is discovered showing that Drake tampered with the Omni Memory Recorder. When Drake attempts escape with his Omni, the Voyagers grab him and end up in the Texas Revolution in Mexico in 1836. Drake escapes somewhere in time while Bogg & Jeff help Sam Houston and the Texan rebels. Susan then brings them back and a judge tells them that Jeff's destiny was to be a Voyager. He gives Bogg his Omni but they go back to work and disappear before he can give them a new Guidebook.
14	"Sneak Attack"	February 13, 1983 (1983-02-13)
In Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 6, 1941, Jackie Knox (an Army Intelligence Officer), follows the Voyagers and steals the Omni bringing them to Utah, on April 10, 1860. They find an injured teenage Bill Cody working The Pony Express who was attacked by outlaws. Bogg convinces Jackie that Voyagers help people in history but when Jeff decides to make the Pony ride and gets ambushed, the trio jump back to Hawaii on the morning of December 7. During the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Jackie saves the life of General Douglas MacArthur. They then use a 1941 motorcycle for the Pony ride in 1860 in order to outrun the bandits.
15	"Voyagers of the Titanic"	February 27, 1983 (1983-02-27)
Bogg & Jeff land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the deck of the RMS Titanic on April 14, 1912. While Jeff tries to warn the captain with Molly Brown, Bogg meets a man named, Haggerty who is not a Voyager, but has an Omni. It belongs to Voyager Olivia Dunn who is trying to get the Mona Lisa off the ship. The three Voyagers then jump to 1884, France where a dog bites Jeff and gives him rabies. Louis Pasteur then works on a vaccine and Jeff fully recovers. They all go back to Titanic and Bogg finds Haggerty in the boiler room where they get the Mona Lisa just as the ship goes underwater. In Paris, April 15, 1912, Jeff (who left separately) thinks they died until they show up and explain they had to bring the stolen painting back to the home of Vincenzo Peruggia.
16	"Pursuit"	March 6, 1983 (1983-03-06)
Bogg brings Jeff to Cape Canaveral, Florida to see the first moon landing but the space program of the United States doesn't exist. German rocket technology was given to Russia at the end of World War II so they go to Austria on May 1, 1945 in order to ensure rocket scientist Wernher von Braun surrenders to American forces only. Bogg tries to warn von Braun that one of his scientists is a spy for the Nazis before they finally meet American forces and he gives them his rocket plans. Then they go to July 20, 1969 and see the moon landing on television as Neil Armstrong utters his famous quote, "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".
17	"Destiny's Choice"	March 13, 1983 (1983-03-13)
In Hollywood, 1928 the Voyagers end up on a closed set of the first sound film. When Jeff points out that the director is Franklin D. Roosevelt, they know all is wrong in Tinseltown. They go to Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, New York in 1924 to keep him from mailing out a script and get known in Hollywood, but his wife, Eleanor, is at odds with Roosevelt's mother who is ashamed of his polio. Posing as a handyman, Bogg helps Roosevelt use crutches and not depend so much on others allowing him to make an important public speech, move up in politics and eventually, become president.
18	"All Fall Down"	March 27, 1983 (1983-03-27)
On June 21, 1938 in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey the Voyagers see Joe Louis training for a boxing match. When Bogg knocks down Louis in a practice bout, he decides to quit boxing. Fearing the coaches will hurt Bogg, Jeff time jumps them to an airplane over Nevada on February, 1970 where an aircraft hijacker releases gas which knocks everyone out except for Jeff. An air traffic controller helps him land the Boeing 747 with future president Jimmy Carter on board. Back in 1938, they convince Louis not to listen to claims of racial superiority about his opponent, Max Schmeling. Bogg & Jeff help train Louis and on June 22, Louis wins against Schmeling and retains his title of "Heavyweight Champion Of The World".
19	"Barriers of Sound"	June 12, 1983 (1983-06-12)
In Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890, Bogg and Jeffrey discover that telephones haven't been invented yet, if phones aren't invented, Dwight D. Eisenhower won't be born if there is no medical assistance. So they go to Boston, 1875, Bogg saves the life of a deaf woman, named Mabel Hubbard. They find Alexander Graham Bell, but his invention, the telephone, doesn't work. Jeff realizes Mabel will be his wife and arrange a meeting, but Mabel and Bogg fall in love with each other. Bogg unwantingly breaks her heart and they go to March 7, 1876 where Bell and Thomas A. Watson are working on the phone. When Bell injures himself and screams, "Mr, Watson! Come here, I want you!" Watson, hearing Bell's voice on the telephone, jumps for joy, knowing they succeeded. Back in Texas, 1890, Bogg & Jeff help the birth of Dwight D. Eisenhower by getting assistance from a doctor on the phone.
20	"Jack's Back"	July 10, 1983 (1983-07-10)
In London, November 19, 1889, an American journalist named Nellie Bly is attacked by a man, but vanishes when Bogg & Jeff appear. When her friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle begins to question Bly about her attacker, she suspects Bogg is the infamous Jack the Ripper and gets the police. Inspector Lasard of Scotland Yard arrests Bogg and the Voyagers realize renegade Voyager Drake was Bly's attacker. After they escape from Lasard, they find Drake about to kill Bly and Doyle in order to "ruin history", but Bogg and Jeff stop him before he vanishes in time.

DVD release

On July 17, 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released all 20 episodes of Voyagers! on DVD in Region 1.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Snauffer and Thurm, p. 83
2. ^ Wallace, David (1983-10-11). "On and Off Camera, Joan Collins Helps in the Making of Male Model Jon-Erik Hexum". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20086114,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-16. 
3. ^ Voyagers! - "Complete Series" Cover Art Changes the Look of the Omni, TV Shows on DVD, April 19, 2007

References

• Snauffer, Douglas and Joel Thurm (2008). The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. McFarland. ISBN 0786432950.

External links

• Voyagers Guidebook: The Ultimate Picture Fansite
• Voyagers! at the Internet Movie Database
• Voyagers! at TV.com