Traveler

Great new show. Guaranteed to be worth your time. It's like a glide from Runaway (TV Series) to Vanished (TV Series) to Prison Break (TV Series). Lots of twists and suspense. Draws you in. Right choice of characters, who play their parts perfectly. Unpredictable. I would recommend that you eat before you start because you just might find yourself developing ulcers, as once you start, eating isn't priority. I'm probably not the best at judging TV shows, but then this, I feel, deserves very good reviews and hopefully some awards. Great performances by Matthew Bomer, Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford, William Sadler, Steven Culp and Pascale Hutton.

A quick-moving serial drama, "Traveler" is one of ABC's new summer-season shows... and from the preview premiere that aired May 10th, it looks extremely promising.

Jay, Tyler, and Will are grad students on the cusp of embarking on a two-month long summer roadtrip, stopping off in New York for one last night of the high life before they begin driving. Events unfold, however, that place the trio smack dab in the middle of a terrorist attack, and subsequently they're considered the prime suspects and pursued by the authorities.

But things are a bit more complex than they seem, and the problems continue to become more and more labyrinthine as the premiere goes on. A mix of modern political thriller, post-9/11 conspiratorial mystery, and well-constructed eye candy, "Traveler" promises to be a solid entry into ABC's roster of productions. I know I'll be watching once the show premieres in late May.

Am watching the pilot after putting it on my DVR. I don't quite get the folks who say it's too soon to show a building being blown up in NYC. Last year United 93 turned 9/11 into a commercial (though harrowing) venture (with a 12 million dollar opening weekend). And the Discovery channel and its cousins have been documenting those events with commercial breaks for at least five years.

Beyond that, it's kinda hoaky and melodramatic, but still thrilling. In some ways it's more believable than Prison Break (and I'm a fan). One would have to be a conservative ideologue not to believe the show's premise. This plot offers a lot of possibilities, and they've handled it better than I expected.

Add me to the List of Fan's that found 'Traveler' compelling, and equally dismayed (pissed-off!) at the abbreviated ending. I understand that it's all about Numbers, and Selling Commercial Time, so they need viewers. But why bother if the Series is D.O.A ? Either contract for a finite amount of episodes (maybe enough for a DVD release)so we fans can enjoy essentially a 'Mini-series'. OR don't bother at all. I've had it with watching Fill-in Series, only to get interested, and being disappointed with the squirrelly scheduling and a truncated ending (such as it is). My list of Favorite One-Shot Series include Surface, Brimstone, and Threshold (lame wrap-up in that one!). It's nice to know that there are others who enjoy these short-lived series as much as I have.

some other comments (in particular one in which the person openly admits they did not watch past the first five minutes, yet still criticizes the show) state the show is cliché or is too much like prison break. I think that couldn't be farther from the truth. This show plays upon the paranoia of terrorism that is prevalent in society not by calling us to fear terrorism more but rather to fear what it would be like to be wrongly accused of terrorism, especially in a country and a world where simple accusations can increasingly be the be all and end all. The show has a great premise, the actors do a decent job, and the cinematography captures the rush of the plot without going over the top "hollywood." and you cannot criticize the director either, someone who has direct :Without A Trace", and several other popular shows, he definitely knows what he is doing. I'd say take a look at the pilot online or maybe when it's played again on television, and see it for yourself before you accept the word of individuals who did not even really give it a full chance themselves. I think it could be a pretty impressive show, and I usually am hard to please about dramas and shows that seem adrenaline driven.