11.22.63

Background:
What happens when you combine the JFK assassination and Time Travel? 11.22.63 is what you get, and it is a damn good show. I was blown away 11.22.63. The show is about as well produced as any show out there. The characters are spot on, the cinematography is beautiful, and the plot is intriguing.

The plot:
11.22.63 is about a man named Jake Epping (James Franco) who is asked to go through a time portal to prevent the JFK assassination. The man who tasks him with it believes that if the assassination is prevented then the future would be different for the better. Jake isn't so convinced but time travels anyway. Jake arrives in the past three years before the assassination takes place, and has to be convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone with the plot. To be convinced he needs to follow Oswald and any other people he interacts with.

The Characters:
A couple characters make a big impact on Jake. The first is Bill Turcotte. Jake him meets in Kentucky and is forced to reveal he is from the future when he finds Jake's belongings. Bill wants to help Jake as he sees it as the right thing to do. They use the backstory that they are brothers and this really fits their relationship for the most part. The both of them have little in common but they are after the same goal. As the show drags on their relationship gets strained and the ending of their relationship doesn't end very well.

The second character that Jake interacts with is Sadie Dunhill (Sarah Gadon). Jake meets her the first time he visits Dallas, and is immediately attracted to her. Sadie is Jake's intellectual counterpart. She is a librarian to Jake being an English teacher. This is where they meet up a second time which occurs about a year and half after their first meeting. Jake and Sadie fall in love with each other, and Jake is forced to reveal to her that he is from the future. She gives the same response that Bill gives and that is she wants to help him. Jake and Sadie's chemistry is off the chart in this show. Franco and Gadon fit together so well in this show. I am not an emotional person, I don't really get on the ship trains, but I was all for the Jake and Sadie relationship. Unfortunately, Jake and Sadie have a bittersweet ending, but the ending makes sense. Their relationship take over the screen every time they are present. I don't think the relationship would have as much impact if Franco and Gadon where not portraying them.

My Problems:
So was there anything I did not like about this show? Not really, but there where some things that bugged me. So you know with any time traveling show there has to be repercussions. With 11.22.63 there is a Final Destination effect. What I mean by that is that the past pushes back when Jake changes things drastically. In one instance specifically, Jake calls his father. His father died at a young age and wanted to hear his voice. The past forces a bad connection and he hangs up. He decides to try again and when he walks back towards the phone booth a car crashes through and the driver tells him, "You aren't supposed to be here." The driver then dies and when Jake gets back to his motel it is burning down. This effect seemed a little gimmicky, and took me out of each scene when it happened. 

Conclusion:
Overall, 11.22.63 is one of the best shows I have watched. It is a quick watch with eight episodes, and each episode is between 45 minutes and 60 minutes. So while the length is something I try to avoid it being eight episodes is something I was ok with. What I loved most about this show was that I was always on the edge of me seat. I can't stand shows where I can predict what will happen, and with this show you have no idea what is going to happen. If you are the same then you will love this show like I did.